MOSCOW, April 1. /TASS/. A delegation of the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) plans to visit the Chernobyl nuclear power plant next week and asks to organize a visit to the Zaporozhskaya NPP, director general of Russia’s state nuclear corporation Rosatom Alexey Likhachev said on Friday.
"I would like to stress his [IAEA chief Rafael Grossi] and his colleagues’ courage. They have travelled two thirds of Ukraine and next week plan to visit Chernobyl. They also ask to organize a visit to the Zaporozhskaya NPP. Such determination to visit sites deserves respect," he said in an interview with the Rossiya-24 television channel.
"Our key task is to ensure maximum security of nuclear facilities in Ukraine in the current difficult conditions. It is number one. Second, another task is to create conditions for the work of the personnel, no matter how difficult it might be," he said.
According to Likhachev, Rosatom is respectful to the Ukrainian personnel of nuclear facilities. "You know, we used to be a single team. Fathers of many today’s workers used to work together in the nuclear sector of the former Soviet Union and, naturally, it is important for us to preserve this spirit of cooperation," he said, adding that Rosatom and the IAEA have reached an agreement on cooperation to ensure safe operation of nuclear facilities.