VIENNA, June 15. /TASS/. Russia is adamant the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) should state clearly who is to blame for the violations of the principles of the Zaporozhye NPP’s safety, if such cases are exposed, Mikhail Ulyanov, Russia's permanent representative to international organizations in Vienna, told TASS on Thursday.
"The statement that [IAEA director-general] Rafael Grossi made at the UN Security Council on May 30 has an extremely important last paragraph regarding the agency's obligation to monitor compliance with the proclaimed principles. Consequently, in case of any violations the agency's personnel at the NPP must immediately inform the director-general, who in turn must speak clearly on the subject in the public space. This is of fundamental importance to us to ensure such public statements indicate unequivocally who is responsible for the violations," Ulyanov said.
According to the envoy, "it remains to be seen " whether the IAEA will identify specific culprits.
Grossi earlier suggested that the UN Security Council endorse five principles of ensuring the safety of the Zaporozhye nuclear power plant: not to permit an attack on or from the plant, not to place heavy weapons and military personnel that could be used for attack, not to endanger power supply to the plant, to protect all structures and systems that ensure the plant’s safe operation and not to take any action that might undermine any of these principles. Grossi promised that he would speak openly about any violation of the principles outlined above.
Russia's permanent representative to the UN, Vasily Nebenzya, has said that Russia has already taken measures consistent with Grossi's proposals.