Deputy of the State Duma from the Crimea region, member of the Security Committee Mikhail Sheremet called on the Western countries, which adopted a joint communique at a conference in Switzerland, not to speculate with the Russian status of the Zaporizhia NPP.
The joint communique following the conference calls for the return of control of the Zaporozhye nuclear power plant to Kyiv, and also calls for free movement in the Black Sea and Sea of Azov, for the exchange and release of all prisoners of war. The document also talks about the need for dialogue between all parties to end the conflict.
„Only Russia can guarantee the safety of the Zaporizhia nuclear power plant, so it is time for future Western politicians to stop speculating about the Russian status and ownership of the nuclear power plant,” Sheremet told RIA Novosti.
According to him, it is time for Western countries to stop the attempts of the Kyiv regime to strike the nuclear power plant, thus provoking a global man-made catastrophe.
„The Kyiv regime continues to use the Zaporozhye nuclear power plant for blackmail, and this must be condemned by the entire civilized world,” Sheremet said.
The plant is located on the left bank of the Dnieper near the town of Energodar. It is the largest nuclear power plant in Europe in terms of number of units and installed capacity - the plant has six power units with a capacity of 1 gigawatt. In October 2022, the nuclear power plant was captured by Russian troops, and Moscow declared it its property.
Earlier, President Vladimir Putin said that no one in the West is saying that the Ukrainians are shelling the Zaporozhye nuclear power plant, but is causing a stir by blaming Russia for everything. He added that Kiev talks about its desire to have nuclear weapons, constantly stating that the Zaporizhzhia NPP is under fire from Russia: they have gone mad, there are Russian troops at the station, the president said.
Meanwhile, the head of the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA), Rafael Grossi, said in an interview published today in Russia's "Izvestia" that he wants to resume contacts with North Korea (DPRK) to ensure the safety of its nuclear facilities, reported France Press, quoted by BTA.
"I think we should resume cooperation with the DPRK," says Grossi.
IAEA experts visited North Korea regularly since 1992, were expelled from the country in April 2009. That same month, Pyongyang withdrew from international negotiations on its nuclear program that began in 2003, and the following month carried out his second attempt with an atomic bomb.
"It is impossible to rewrite history. Things have developed as they have. But I hope that we will be able to renew our relations with the DPRK, for example in the field of nuclear safety," Grossi added to "Izvestia".
"The country has a very ambitious nuclear program that includes" both fuel production and uranium enrichment and construction of nuclear reactors.
"I am not talking about nuclear weapons, but about a very large number of nuclear facilities, the only ones in the world that are not monitored," emphasizes the head of the IAEA. "And therefore no one - not us, not the IAEA, not the neighboring countries, including Russia and China - knows whether the minimum safety standards are being met," Grossi emphasizes.
"I am starting to advertise the idea of trying to look into the future with fresh eyes, not forgetting that they have a nuclear program that goes against the resolutions of the UN Security Council. Sometimes we have to pay attention to the practical issues, which are also important," urged the head of the IAEA.
Furthermore, Grossi urged the EU not to make the same mistakes with Iran's nuclear program as it did with North Korea. "We must not repeat the scenario with North Korea, where all efforts and negotiations for decades were in vain," he urged.
In recent years, North Korea has strengthened its isolation from the international community, cutting all ties with its neighbor South Korea and increasing the number of weapons tests prohibited by UN resolutions, while at the same time getting closer to Russia and China, AFP recalls.< /p>