VIENNA, March 6. /TASS/. There is no immediate need for a visit by Director General of the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) Rafael Grossi to Moscow, Russia’s Permanent Representative to the Vienna-based international organizations, Mikhail Ulyanov, told TASS on Monday.

"It should be stated that talks on this ‘zone’ (i.e. a security zone around the Zaporozhye NPP - TASS) are losing momentum. Today, Ukraine’s energy minister even said that they are at a dead end," Ulyanov said. "This statement confirms the impression that the Ukrainians are not ready to commit themselves to refrain from shelling the nuclear plant and are looking for pretexts that have nothing to do with the real state of affairs. Thus, under these conditions, there is no need for Grossi to visit Moscow".

According to the Russian diplomat, the IAEA chief and Western countries should address the issue of the security zone with Kiev additionally.

At the same time, he noted that "the issue of creating a nuclear and physical safety and security zone around the Zaporozhye NPP was highlighted in Grossi’s remarks before the meeting of the IAEA Board of Governors on Monday." "The director general said it straight that it is the most important topic which needs to be promoted in order to prevent a serious nuclear accident with unpredictable consequences. The agency’s chief confirmed that despite all the problems he is not going to drop his initiative," Ulyanov said, adding that South Korea supported the idea of a security zone.

"The Americans and the British uttered the words of their all-round support for the IAEA director general’s efforts toward ensuring nuclear safety. But, notably, they said nothing about the ‘security zone’ exactly," he stressed, adding that Russia and Western nations have already "exchanged niceties" on Ukraine-related topics at the session of the IAEA Board of Governors that opened on Monday.

"We repelled Western countries’ attempts at accusing us of undermining nuclear security in Ukraine and of committing an ‘illegal and unjustified aggression against the neighboring state," the Russian diplomat stressed.

Renat Karchaa, an adviser to the director general of Russia’s Rosenergoatom nuclear power engineering company, said on arch 4 that Ukraine’s false-flag operation to attack the Russian security team accompanying the IAEA inspectors was meant to replace the issue of establishing a safety zone around the ZNPP, currently being discussed between Russia and the UN nuclear watchdog, with the idea of demilitarizing the nuclear facility Ukraine insists on. For Kiev, the nuke plant has been an instrument for solving tasks that are distant from nuclear energy and a tool for manipulating public opinion, especially the West, he said.

Russia has repeatedly drawn the attention of the international community to shelling attacks on the Zaporozhye nuclear plant by the Ukrainian side. The IAEA chief said in early December 2022 that an agreement on the establishment of a security zone around the ZNPP could be reached soon. CEO of Russia’ state nuclear corporation Rosatom, Alexey Likhachev, said earlier that the security modality discussed with Grossi excludes any shelling attacks on the facility. Meanwhile, the Ukrainian side demands the plant be demilitarized and insists on the withdrawal of Russian security personnel from it.

According to Karchaa, the Russian side supports the idea of a security zone around the ZNPP but insists that the starting and the key conditions is a moratorium on any "artillery activities" around the plant and the city of Energodar were it is located.