MOSCOW, March 3. /TASS/. Russia supports the establishment of a safety zone around the Zaporozhye nuclear power plant, as long as this does not run counter to its national interests or the interests of its nuclear industry, Renat Karchaa, an adviser to the director general of Rosenergoatom, said on Friday.
"We are for the establishment of a safety zone around the Zaporozhye nuclear power plant. But talk about the establishment of a safety zone can only begin if a moratorium on any artillery activity around the nuclear power plant and the city of Energodar is imposed . At the same time, the Russian Federation will not do anything to the detriment of its national interests, the interests of the atomic industry, or the residents of the city," he said on Rossiya-24 television.
He said some forces want to "manipulate the situation" so that Russia shoots itself in the foot.
"These misconceptions will get a dose of reality," Karchaa said.
Moscow has repeatedly drawn the attention of the international community to the shelling of the Zaporozhye nuclear power plant from the Ukrainian side.
An IAEA mission led by its Director General Rafael Grossi traveled to the ZNPP in September 2022 and left several agency employees there as observers. Afterward, the agency published a report calling for the establishment of a safety zone around the ZNPP to prevent accidents arising from hostilities. Grossi has been holding talks with Russian and Ukrainian officials to advance the idea.
The IAEA published a statement by Grossi on Thursday, where he reiterated his determination to help to protect the plant by introducing a nuclear safety zone.