MELITOPOL, February 18. /TASS/. The rotation of experts from the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) at the Zaporozhye Nuclear Power Plant (ZNPP) is scheduled for the next few days, Director General Rafael Grossi told Izvestia newspaper.
"We are currently working on the next rotation of our experts. As you know, the previous one was interrupted by increased military activity," he said.
"This is why we hope to be able to do this as soon as possible. We are consulting with Moscow, trying to obtain the necessary security assurances so that our teams are protected. At the same time, we are conducting similar negotiations with Ukraine to ensure that it fulfills its obligations and protects international inspectors. So, I hope we will be able to complete this work within the next several days."
Grossi could not say with certainty who was firing at the power plant.
"We have no convincing evidence. There is little that can help us pinpoint the source of the shelling. We are continuing our work. The situation is very fragile, we must continue to work with both sides," he said.
The IAEA head added that he plans to visit Russia again soon. The last time he visited the country was on February 7, when he held talks with an interdepartmental group headed by Rosatom CEO Alexei Likhachev.
The IAEA experts who have been working at the Zaporozhye nuclear power plant since the autumn of 2022 are rotated almost monthly. But in February, the rotation has already been delayed twice due to provocations from Kiev. Earlier, Ukraine’s Foreign Ministry claimed that the rotation of observers was postponed allegedly due to Russia’s failure to provide the necessary security guarantees.
Ukraine disrupted the rotation of IAEA experts on February 12 by firing at a convoy carrying experts. On the same day, a Ukrainian drone attacked a parking lot in Energodar, 300 metres from the reactor of the Zaporozhye station.
Mikhail Ulyanov, Russia’s Permanent Representative to international organizations in Vienna, said that Ukraine is misleading, claiming that Russia has no safety guarantees for the rotation of IAEA inspectors at the NPP. He said that Kiev is trying to introduce new demands that go beyond the established practice.