Russian President Vladimir Putin meets with Rafael Grossi, director general of the UN’s International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA), in Saint Petersburg
ST PETERSBURG (Russia), Oct 12 (NNN-TASS/IAEA) — Russian President Vladimir Putin met Tuesday in St. Petersburg with the director general of the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA), Rafael Grossi, official spokesman Dmitri Peskov reported.
The spokesman said the main topic of the meeting was the situation around the Zaporizhzhya nuclear power plant, held by Moscow forces since last March, the TASS news agency reported.
According to the IAEA, the head of the agency discussed with the Russian president the question of the transfer of the Zaporizhzhya nuclear power plant to Russian ownership and the establishment of a security zone around the facility.
Grossi had anticipated that he would discuss with Putin the issue of transferring the employees of the Zaporizhzhya nuclear power plant to the Russian State Atomic Energy Corporation (Rosatom).
In a statement issued by the Vienna-based IAEA, Grossi Tuesday met with Putin as part of the IAEA’s efforts to prevent a nuclear accident during the current military conflict in Ukraine, stressing the urgent need to establish a safety and security protection zone around the Zaporizhzhya Nuclear Power Plant (ZNPP).
Last week, the Director General met with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky in Kyiv and they will meet again there later this week, following Tuesday’s discussions with Putin in St Petersburg.
In recent weeks, Grossi has been engaging in intense consultations with both Ukraine and Russia to agree and implement such a protection zone as soon as possible, in view of shelling at or near Europe’s largest nuclear power plant in recent weeks and months.
“The situation in the region around the Zaporizhzhya Nuclear Power Plant and elsewhere has become increasingly dangerous, precarious and challenging, with frequent military attacks that can also threaten nuclear safety and security,” Grossi said.
“Now more than ever, during these extremely difficult times, a protection zone must be established around the ZNPP. We can’t afford to lose any more time. The stakes are high. We must do everything in our power to help ensure that a nuclear accident does not happen during this tragic conflict, as it could cause even more hardship and suffering in Ukraine and beyond,” he said.
On Oct 5, Putin signed a decree on the transfer of the Zaporizhzhya nuclear power plant facilities to Russian federal ownership.
In addition, he instructed to create the federal state unitary enterprise Zaporizhzhya Nuclear Power Plant, which will take ownership of this plant. — NNN-TASS/IAEA
