MOSCOW, March 5. /TASS/. IAEA Director General Rafael Grossi intends to visit Russia in the near future, he will hold a number of high-level meetings and consultations on the safety of the Zaporozhye Nuclear Power Plant, Russian Foreign Ministry Spokeswoman Maria Zakharova said.

"Indeed, IAEA Director General Rafael Grossi intends to visit Russia in the near future to discuss our further interaction with the agency," the diplomat said in a statement. "A number of high-level meetings will be held during the visit," she pointed out.

"Working consultations are also planned to maintain a dialogue with the IAEA leadership on nuclear and physical safety issues at the Zaporozhye NPP," Zakharova added.

Earlier, Grossi said that he considered it important to maintain a dialogue with Moscow and Kiev, without specifying what results could be expected from the visit to Russia. The IAEA chief recalled that he had spoken "many times" with Ukrainian President Vladimir Zelensky and once with Russian President Vladimir Putin. According to him, the situation around the Zaporozhye Nuclear Power Plant plays a key role for "international peace and security."

The ZNPP, located in Energodar, has six power units with a total capacity of 6 GW. It is Europe‘s largest nuclear power generating facility. At the end of February 2022, the facility was taken over by Russian forces. Since then, Ukrainian army units have periodically shelled both residential areas in Energodar and the plant itself using drones, heavy artillery and multiple rocket launchers.