MOSCOW, February 6. /TASS/. Russia’s Deputy Foreign Minister Sergey Ryabkov has confirmed that the Director-General of the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) Rafael Grossi will arrive in Moscow later this week to discuss the security of the Zaporozhye nuclear power plant.
"[The visit] is in the process of final coordination. I can confirm that it will take place this week. [Grossi will arrive] in Moscow. The schedule has not been finalized yet, but everything indicates that this visit will take place. We are looking forward, as always, to a deep and professional conversation. [A security zone around the ZNPP] is the key issue," the diplomat told the media on Monday, while answering a corresponding question.
The 6-gigawatt Zaporozhye NPP, the largest nuclear power plant in Europe, is located in Energodar. At the end of February last year, the facility was put under control by Russian forces. Since then, the Ukrainian army has periodically shelled both the residential areas of Energodar and the territory of the nuclear plant, using drones, heavy artillery and multiple launch rocket systems. In early September 2022, the station was inspected by a Grossi-led IAEA mission. After the mission left the ZNPP, several IAEA employees remained at the facility in the capacity of observers. Later, the IAEA released a report calling for the creation of a security zone around the ZNPP to prevent accidents hostilities might cause. Grossi has been holding talks with representatives of the Russian and Ukrainian sides on the issue.