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IAEA holds consultations on early dispatch of its mission to Zaporozhye NPP — statement

The director general Rafael Grossi welcomed recent statements that both Ukraine and Russia support the IAEA's plans

MOSCOW, August 19. /TASS/. IAEA Director General Rafael Grossi has said that active negotiations are underway to send a mission to the Zaporozhye nuclear power plant, the organization wrote on its official website on Friday.

According to the agency, Grossi said that the IAEA was engaged in active consultations with all parties regarding the dispatch of a mission to the nuclear power plant. It also reported that the director general welcomed recent statements that both Ukraine and Russia support the IAEA's plans.

Earlier on Friday, the UN said there was nothing to announce at this stage about when an International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) mission will visit the Zaporozhye nuclear power plant.

According to the Kremlin press service, Presidents Vladimir Putin of Russia and Emmanuel Macron of France held a telephone conversation earlier on Friday, highlighting "the importance of sending an IAEA mission to the nuclear plant as soon as possible to assess the real situation on the ground." Russia reaffirmed its readiness to provide the necessary assistance to IAEA inspectors, the Kremlin added. The Elysee Palace, in turn, pointed out that Russia had agreed to a proposal on the mission’s deployment.

Located in the city of Energodar, the Zaporozhye Nuclear Power Plant is controlled by Russian troops. In recent days, Ukrainian forces delivered strikes against the facility using unmanned aerial vehicles, heavy artillery and multiple rocket launch systems. In most cases, such attacks are repelled by air defense systems, but several shells managed to hit infrastructure facilities and the vicinity of the nuclear waste storage.

On Thursday, Alexander Volga, head of the military-civilian administration of Energodar, said that all services were put on alert for the case of possible provocations by Ukrainian troops at the nuclear power plant.

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