VIENNA, March 11. /TASS/. The International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) has made its first attempt to launch a dialogue between Russia and Ukraine on ensuring safety of Ukrainian nuclear power plants, IAEA Director General Rafael Grossi has said.
Earlier, the nuclear official met with the foreign ministers of Ukraine and Russia, Dmitry Kuleba and Sergey Lavrov in Turkey to discuss the issue.
Grossi described his negotiations in Turkey as constructive.
"My first goal was to establish direct dialogue at the very high level. <…> And this was achieved. We had the meetings, good meetings," Grossi said.
"Both sides agree that this idea of ours is worth pursuing, that something needs to be done. They are both ready to work and to engage with the IAEA to materialize this into some agreed format," the nuclear official said, when asked whether any agreement on nuclear safety in Ukraine was reached.
"This is my first achievement for now," he continued, adding that the work will continue in coming days.
During the special military operation in Ukraine, Russia’s armed forces took control of the Chernobyl and Zaporozhye nuclear power plants. Russian Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Maria Zakharova said at a briefing on Wednesday that the situation at both nuclear power plants is controlled jointly by Russian servicemen, Ukrainian specialists, and the National Guard. According to her, "statements from the Ukrainian side about an alleged twentyfold increase in the radiation level at the Chernobyl nuclear power plant do not correspond to reality." The IAEA said on its Twitter feed that it did not observe any critical breaches in the plant's safety system.
In this regard, Grossi urged to ensure safety of nuclear facilities in Ukraine and prevent radioactive pollution.