MOSCOW, January 27. /TASS/. Ukraine has not given any response to a draft declaration which was sent to Kiev concerning the creation of a nuclear safety and security protection zone around the Zaporozhye Nuclear Power Plant (ZNPP), Russia’s Permanent Representative to the International Organizations in Vienna Mikhail Ulyanov said on Friday.
"As for Ukrainians, they received the draft declaration on the creation of a protection zone [around the Zaporozhye NPP] back on September 21, [when] [IAEA Director General Rafael] Grossi handed it to [Dmitry] Kuleba, Ukraine’s foreign minister, in New York. We are into the fifth month since then, but the Ukrainians have not responded to the document yet," he said on the Rossiya-24 news channel.
Ulyanov pointed out that by doing so, Russia clearly defines its red lines and concerns, and holds an ongoing dialogue with the IAEA.
"There are also things on which we agree with the agency’s secretariat. In other words, that is healthy conversation, but there is none between the agency’s secretariat and Ukraine. Hence, here is the stalled state of affairs, and this problem has [remained in place] for the fifth month in a row," the Russian permanent representative stressed.
According to Ulyanov, however, Grossi sees the issue as his top priority and "is really terrified that sooner or later it will end up in a nuclear accident."
"He is going to push this idea through and bring it to life, and he is going to look for solutions to this issue. So far, it is not working out very well, but this is primarily due to the position of the Ukrainian side, which is unwilling to take on the obligations of leaving the nuclear facility alone," Ulyanov added.
In early September 2022, the IAEA’s fact-finding mission led by Director General Rafael Grossi visited the Zaporozhye NPP. After their departure, several employees from the agency stayed there as observers. Later, the IAEA published a report calling for a nuclear safety and security protection zone to be established around the plant in order to prevent incidents that could be caused by hostilities. To negotiate this project, Grossi is in talks with Russian and Ukrainian representatives.