Erdoğan on situation at Zaporizhzhia Nuclear Power Plant: We don’t want another Chornobyl, we are on Ukraine’s side
STANISLAV POHORILOV – THURSDAY, 18 AUGUST 2022, 20:29
During a press conference in Lviv, Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan said that he was alarmed by the situation at the Zaporizhzhia Nuclear Power Plant (ZNPP) and warned the society against the repeating of the Chornobyl disaster. He also underscored that Turkey is on Ukraine’s side.
Source: Ukrinform
Quote from Erdoğan: "We are alarmed by the hostilities at the NPP. We don’t want to experience another Chornobyl. We are and will remain on Ukraine’s side."
Details: Erdoğan stressed his support for Ukraine’s sovereignty and territorial integrity and offered his condolences in relation to the Russian attack on Kharkiv the night before.
Background:
- The Russian Defence Ministry said that a "large-scale provocation of the Kyiv regime" could occur at the ZNPP during the visit of UN Secretary-General António Guterres to Ukraine on 19 August.
- UN Secretary-General António Guterres arrived in Lviv on 17 August to meet with the presidents of Ukraine and Turkey. Guterres was to discuss the situation at the Zaporizhzhia Nuclear Power Plant and the search for a diplomatic solution to end the war with Russia with President Zelenskyy.
- The UN earlier said that it will facilitate the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) visit to Zaporizhzhia via Kyiv. However, Russia was insisting that the transit of any such mission via Ukraine will not be safe. On 18 August, Ukrainian Foreign Minister Dmytro Kuleba reported that Rafael Grossi, Director General of the IAEA, said that he is ready to lead the IAEA delegation to ZNPP.
- At a meeting of the United Nations Security Council, the United States indicated that to ensure the security of the ZNPP it is necessary to withdraw Russian troops from there, create a demilitarised zone there and provide access to the IAEA experts to the plant. Vasyl Nebenzia, Russia's Permanent Representative to the United Nations, rejected the offer to create a demilitarised zone around the Zaporizhzhia Nuclear Power Plant.
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