Russian officials and a delegation of the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) held a fresh round of consultations in Moscow last week on cooperation in ensuring the safety and security of the Zaporizhzhya nuclear power plant (NPP) in Ukraine in the current situation of conflict in that country.
IAEA Director General Rafael Grossi and Russian state atomic energy corporation Rosatom’s Director General Alexei Likhachev took part in the talks on February 9, along with other officials, said a statement by Rosatom, which currently operates the Zaporizhzhya NPP.
Likhachev informed Grossi of the steps the Russian side is taking to ensure the safety and security of the Zaporizhzhya NPP and provide comfortable social and living conditions for staff members and their families at the nuclear power station, the statement said.
The IAEA Director General spoke about the progress of his initiative to establish a nuclear safety and security protection zone at the Zaporizhzhya NPP, it said.
“In this regard, Alexey Likhachev expressed the readiness of the Russian side to continue work on this initiative of the IAEA Director General”, the statement added
According to Rosatom, the discussions also covered issues on current and future cooperation between Russia and the IAEA in other areas and that the parties confirmed their agreement to continue contacts.
Following Grossi’s return to the Agency headquarters in Vienna, an IAEA release cited the IAEA Director General as saying that “both in Kyiv and Moscow, we are continuing our determined diplomatic work aimed at establishing the zone as soon as possible. This week’s meetings in Moscow were important in this regard, enabling us to discuss the plan in detail with senior representatives of the Russian government. I remain hopeful that the zone will be established.”
