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IAEA Director General hopes to visit Russia, Ukraine as early as this week

Earlier, Rafael Grossi met with Rosatom CEO Alexey Likhachev on the conference’s sidelines and discussed plans to create a protection zone around the Zaporozhye NPP
IAEA Director General Rafael Grossi EPA-EFE/MAX BRUCKER
IAEA Director General Rafael Grossi
© EPA-EFE/MAX BRUCKER

VIENNA, September 27. /TASS/. IAEA Director General Rafael Grossi hopes to come to Russia and Ukraine this week in order to continue talks on the situation around the Zaporozhye nuclear power plant.

"It’s going to be very, very soon. We hope, even this week if we can," he told a TASS correspondent on the sidelines of the 66th annual session of the IAEA General Conference, replying to a question on the matter.

Commenting on progress of negotiations about creating a security zone around the nuclear facility, the head of the international organization said: "I think we are making progress."

Earlier, Grossi met with Rosatom CEO Alexey Likhachev on the conference’s sidelines and discussed plans to create a protection zone around the Zaporozhye NPP. The IAEA head thought that it was "a necessary step towards reducing the risk of a nuclear accident." In his address at the conference, he noted that he was ready to continue discussions with Russia and Ukraine on the matter.

On September 21, Grossi said that he held a number of meetings on the sidelines of the 77th session of the UN General Assembly, including with Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov, Ukrainian top diplomat Dmitry Kuleba and French President Emmanuel Macron to discuss the creation of a safety and security zone around the nuclear plant. He also met with Ukrainian Prime Minister Denis Shmygal and EU High Representative for Foreign Affairs and Security Policy Josep Borrell. Additionally, the IAEA secretary general reported that the agency was planning to expand its mission to the Zaporozhye nuclear plant in the near future.

The Zaporozhye nuclear power plant located in Energodar is controlled by Russian troops. In early September, the nuclear facility was visited by the IAEA’s mission led by Grossi. After the mission left the nuclear power plant, two IAEA employees stayed behind as observers. Later, the IAEA published a report urging the creation of a security zone around the nuclear facility to prevent accidents caused by military action.