IAEA chief to discuss with Putin latter’s plans for seized nuclear plant in Ukraine
Grossi made the announcement during a press conference in Vienna on Monday, an Ukrinform correspondent reports.
“For me, it's very important to be able to discuss with him some technical points. Of course, I was there, I was at the plant, I was discussing some issues. I want to have an impression of what are the plans there and be able to put across some important points that we believe that technically are very, very important,” Grossi noted, outlining his agenda for the second anniversary of the seizure of the Ukrainian nuclear plant by Russia.
He confirmed he would visit Moscow on March 5 to meet with the Russian leader.
The IAEA chief noted the importance of keeping a “high-level dialogue with both belligerents”.
To a question of what issues will be discussed at the meeting with Putin, Grossi said that at such a high-level meeting, issues other than the Zaporizhzhia NPP may also be discussed. Specifically regarding the ZNPP, Grossi said he seeks to find out Russia’s vision as to whether the plant will be put into operation or not.
“But when it comes to the plant, there are issues related to the future operational status of the plant, is it going to be started or not, what is the idea, what is the idea in terms of the external power supply lines, since what we see is extremely fragile and thin, so these are important matters. If it's restarted, what kind of safety evaluations are going to be made, I mean, there are many things where the agency has a role, a responsibility even, I would say. So there are many questions, I suppose, that could be discussed within this specifically technical area that I'm mentioning,” the top official emphasized.
His meeting with Putin aims to have Russia formally inform the IAEA of the matters in question.
As Ukrinform reported earlier, IAEA Director General Rafael Mariano Grossi stated during the opening of the Board of Governors meeting on Monday in Vienna that the situation at the Russian-occupied Zaporizhzhia nuclear power plant remains "very precarious", as six of the seven pillars of nuclear and physical safety defined by the Agency have been fully or partially compromised.
Photo: X/rafaelmgrossi
