Russia refuses to create a demilitarised zone around Zaporizhzhia Nuclear Power Plant
STANISLAV POHORILOV – THURSDAY, 18 AUGUST 2022, 15:51
Ivan Nechayev, Deputy Director of the Information and Press Department of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of the Russian Federation, said that Moscow is not considering the proposition to create a demilitarised zone around the Zaporizhzhia Nuclear Power Plant (ZNPP).
Source: Interfax Russia
Quote from Nechayev: "The propositions to create a demilitarised zone around the Zaporizhzhia NPP are unacceptable. To implement them would mean to make the power plant even more vulnerable."
Details: Meanwhile, Moscow said that it expects the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) inspectors to visit the ZNPP "in the very near future".
Background:
- 42 countries have called on Russia to withdraw its troops from the Zaporizhzhia NPP, stressing that their presence there poses a threat to the safe operation of the nuclear plant.
- On Thursday, 11 August, UN Secretary-General António Guterres issued a warning about the ZNPP, calling for a withdrawal of all military personnel and equipment from the plant and for no further deployment of forces or equipment to the site. The High Representative of the European Union for Foreign Affairs and Security Policy, Josep Borrell, has joined the calls to demilitarise the zone around the ZNPP.
- The UN has denied Russia’s allegations that the UN Secretariat is blocking access by the International Atomic Energy Agency’s (IAEA) to the Zaporizhzhia Nuclear Power Plant (ZNPP), which remains under the control of Russian occupying forces.
Volodymyr Zelenskyy, the President of Ukraine, said that his country is prepared to ensure appropriate precautions are in place to promptly facilitate a legal visit by the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA).
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