Russia, Ukraine fail to approve IAEA plan to protect Zaporizhzhia nuclear plant – Reuters
Russia has not agreed to abide by the five principles laid out by the head of the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA), Rafael Grossi, to protect the Russian-occupied ZNPP.
Ukraine, in turn, suggested adding two more points, Reuters reports.
Grossi has been trying to work out an agreement to reduce the risk of a nuclear accident from military action for months.
The IAEA's five principles included a ban on attacks on or from nuclear power plants, as well as a ban on deploying heavy weapons such as multiple launcher rocket systems, artillery systems, and munitions, as well as tanks or military personnel on the plant's premises.
Grossi also called for keeping the power plant accessible and secure and for all of its major systems to be protected from any attacks or acts of sabotage.
He called the situation in Zaporizhzhia "extremely fragile and dangerous" and added that military activity continues in the region and it may step up significantly soon enough.
While Russia has said it would do everything it could to protect the power plant it has occupied for more than a year, it has not made a clear commitment to comply with Grossi's five principles.
"Mr. Grossi's proposals to ensure the safety of the Zaporizhzhia NPP are consistent with the measures we have been implementing for a long time," said Vasiliy Nebenzya, the Permanent Representative of Russia to the United Nations.
Ukraine's ambassador to the UN Serhii Kyslytsia stated that the demand for complete demilitarisation and liberation of the station should be added to these principles.
