IZHEVSK, April 24. /TASS/. Moscow has taken note of increasing security threats to nuclear facilities, including the Zaporozhye Nuclear Power Plant and Iran’s Bushehr Nuclear Power Plant, Russian Foreign Ministry Spokeswoman Maria Zakharova said at a briefing.
"We can see that physical threats to nuclear facilities continue to increase. This is primarily about the Zaporozhye NPP and the Bushehr site," she pointed out.
According to the diplomat, Russia attaches great importance to strengthening physical nuclear security across the world and is firmly guided by the fundamental principle of international cooperation in the field of nuclear security. "It suggests that it is the host country that is responsible for ensuring nuclear security on its soil and determining the best parameters regarding the relevant national systems and mechanisms," Zakharova added.
"As for the International Atomic Energy Agency, which often claims to take on the powers it is not supposed to have, it really needs to play a leading role here, but only when it comes to international cooperation in the field of physical nuclear security. In short, the emphasis here is on international cooperation. The agency also provides technical assistance and special practical guides to countries. However, it is solely up to countries to ensure the physical security of nuclear and radioactive materials, as well as of related facilities," she emphasized.
Zakharova noted that maintaining confidentiality was also crucial for ensuring physical security and nuclear safety. "As we can see, terrorists and other criminals certainly can and do seek to use any information they obtain in this regard for their evil ends. That said, they must not be able to get access to any data and information on the algorithms of potential criminal activities and specific countermeasures governments use to build security systems," the Russian Foreign Ministry spokeswoman added.