IAEA and Russia discuss situation at Zaporizhzhia nuclear power plant

Following his visit to Ukraine, IAEA Director General Rafael Mariano Grossi traveled to Kaliningrad to discuss the situation at the Zaporizhzhia Nuclear Power Plant (ZNPP) with Russian authorities. Grossi was greeted by Rosatom Director General Alexey Likachev, who said that discussions with the IAEA chief were frank and professional. On his part, Grossi described the talks as “comprehensive and necessary” to assess the current safety situation at ZNPP and the role played by IAEA experts stationed at the plant to prevent a potential nuclear accident. During the talks, Likhachev highlighted the ongoing work on preparing for the restart of ZNPP, while Grossi shared his understanding of the situation surrounding the plant and discussed his recent international contacts. Other topics included the rotation of the IAEA teams and the nuclear and physical security of the nuclear plant amid intense fighting. There were also questions about problems posed by the presence of US-made nuclear fuel at ZNPP. Grossi said the IAEA is willing to act as a mediator on the issue if the parties agree on this.
Russia took control of ZNPP in March 2022, and a few months later formally annexed the region where the plant is located. Now it is pressing to restart the plant, but Grossi told the press there was a “common view” between the Russian and the IAEA delegations that it would be inadvisable to do it in the current military situation. He also told reporters he intended to visit ZNPP again to assess directly the state of the plant.