Lavrov explains what Russia expects from IAEA mission to ZNPP

STANISLAV POHORILOV – THURSDAY, 1 SEPTEMBER, 12:32

Sergey Lavrov, the Minister for Foreign Affairs of the Russian Federation, has stated that it is Ukraine that is perpetrating provocations at the Zaporizhzhia Nuclear Power Plant (ZNPP), "replacing the real work on the issue of nuclear safety with external effects"; instead, Russia allegedly seeks an "objective" assessment, which should be given by the IAEA mission.

Source: Russian state-owned news outlet RIA Novosti

Quote from Lavrov: "We expect unbiasedness. Though everyone else who is one way or another related to this visit, with its preparation and attempts to complicate it, they clearly do not want the IAEA mission to draw any fair conclusions." 

Details: Lavrov accused Kyiv of acting at its own discretion. According to him, "such Napoleonic things look pitiful; it is an attempt to replace real work on the problem of nuclear safety with these external KVN staging effects." [KVN or Klub Vesyolykh i Nakhodchivykh, "Club of the Funny and Inventive") is a Russian (and formerly Soviet) humour TV show where teams compete by giving funny answers to questions and showing prepared sketches. Volodymyr Zelenskyy used to compete in the KVN comedy competition team at age of 17, and then created his own production company Kvartal 95, which produced films, cartoons, and TV shows].

The head of the foreign policy department added that Russia had also insisted that ballistics specialists were part of the mission.

Background:

• On the morning of 1 September, an International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) mission set off from the Ukrainian city of Zaporizhzhia and headed for the nuclear power plant in the Russian-controlled town of Enerhodar, despite reports of intense shelling in the area.
• Energoatom reported that operating unit 5 at ZNPP has been automatically shut down due to Russian attacks.
• The Ministry for Foreign Affairs of Ukraine stated that the actions of the Russian army are endangering the work of the mission of the International Atomic Energy Agency, which is heading for the occupied ZNPP.
• Minister of Energy of Ukraine Herman Halushchenko says that Russian occupiers may prevent the IAEA mission from visiting key facilities that need to be inspected on the territory of the occupied ZNPP.
• The IAEA mission, which has set off from Zaporizhia to the ZNPP, is currently at a checkpoint in Novooleksandrivka, which is approximately 20 km from the front line.

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