No reason to doubt Russia's commitment to guaranteeing nuclear safety of Zaporozhye NPP - Russian Foreign Ministry
Interfax Russia & CIS General Newswire
MOSCOW. May 24 (Interfax) - Russia remains in touch with the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) Secretariat regarding IAEA Director-General Rafael Grossi's safety plan for the Zaporozhye Nuclear Power Plant, Russian Deputy Foreign Minister Sergei Ryabkov said on Wednesday. "There is absolutely no reason to doubt our commitment to guaranteeing the nuclear safety of the Zaporozhye NPP, and there cannot be any. Let us wait and see how the situation develops," Ryabkov told reporters in Moscow, in response to a question about whether Grossi's safety plan for the Zaporozhye NPP had been studied. "For obvious reasons, the issue was mostly kept private before it came into the limelight in recent days. It's a question for Kiev whether it's ready to take political and other steps to prevent the shelling of this facility and to abstain from attacks on adjacent territories, including Energodar, or not. In my opinion, the answer is negative," Ryabkov said. "So, the IAEA Secretariat should not hide behind vague comments about who is doing what and what is happening in that area. Instead, it should clearly state that the plant must not be shelled, the facilities ensuring its operation must not be attacked; there should be no destructive behavior in organizing and providing a stable, permanent power supply, and so on," he said. "We are relaying all of this to the heads of the IAEA Secretariat and hope to continue doing so. Time, and most importantly the behavior of Kiev and its Western handlers, will soon show how this situation develops, and how much relevance and practical value Grossi's principles have," Ryabkov said. te sy ap (Our editorial staff can be reached at eng.editors@interfax.ru)