Moscow welcomes the International Atomic Energy Agency’s (IAEA) planned trip to the Zaporizhia nuclear power plant in southeastern Ukraine, which is held by Russian forces, a Russian diplomat was quoted as saying by state media. Russia’s permanent representative to international organizations in Vienna, Mikhail Ulyanov, said Russia understood the IAEA would leave several representatives at the plant on a permanent basis, state media RIA Novosti reported. “As far as we understand, it is the general director’s intention to leave many people at the station on a permanent basis,” Ulyanov said, according to RIA. Ulyanov added that the mission consists of “about a dozen employees of the organization’s secretariat dealing with safeguards and nuclear security,” as well as a large group of UN staff dealing with logistics and security, according to RIA. “Russia has made a significant contribution to the preparation of this mission. We hope that the visit of the IAEA mission to the plant will dispel many speculations about the unfavorable situation at the Zaporizhia nuclear power plant,” Ulyanov added. What happens? Early Monday, IAEA chief Rafael Mariano Grossi tweeted that the delegation would arrive in Zaporizhia — home to Europe’s largest nuclear facility — “later this week.” The Kremlin said on Monday that the IAEA mission would enter the Zaporizhia nuclear power plant from the Ukrainian side, but Russia would ensure its security on territory held by the Russian military. As for the territory controlled by Russia, security will be provided at the required appropriate level,” Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov told reporters at a regular teleconference. “[The mission] will enter the [nuclear plant] territory from the zone controlled by the Ukrainian Armed Forces. There, security will be provided by the Ukrainians,” Peskov added. When asked about the possibility of creating a demilitarized zone around the plant, Peskov said it was “not under discussion.” Peskov added that Russia welcomes the long-awaited IAEA mission. “We have been waiting for this mission for a long time. We consider it necessary,” said Peskov.
