The leader of the UN’s nuclear energy watchdog declared on Monday that he was prepared to resume negotiations this week in Russia and Ukraine to establish a security perimeter around a significant nuclear power facility.
Fears of a nuclear disaster have been sparked by fighting near Ukraine’s largest nuclear power facility, Zaporizhzhia.
In order to discuss creating the security zone surrounding the plant to protect it, Rafael Grossi, the director of the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA), met with the foreign ministers of Russia and Ukraine last week on the margins of the UN General Assembly.
“It’s feasible. We must complete this. In his opening remarks at the agency’s annual general meeting, he added, “And I’m prepared to continue these conversations in both nations this week so that we can safeguard this facility.
“The work there will enable us to stabilise an unacceptably chaotic environment. And I have no doubt that we can accomplish it.
“This conflict must end. But before that occurs, we must take every precaution to avoid a nuclear disaster, which would only make the agony worse, he continued.
As Kiev accused Russia of further bombardment, the IAEA and Western governments expressed concern Wednesday about the security of the Zaporizhzhia nuclear power station.
After Russian forces took control of Europe’s largest nuclear facility in March, appeals for demilitarising the areas around Ukraine’s nuclear installations came from Kiev and its Western partners.
Early in September, a team of IAEA specialists examined the Zaporizhzhia nuclear power station, and the IAEA has kept a two-person team on site ever since.
