In a meeting with Russian President Vladimir Putin, IAEA chief Rafael Grossi raised concerns over the safety and security of the Zaporizhzhia Nuclear Power Plant. The meeting on Tuesday between the IAEA Director-General and Putin in St. Petersburg, Russia, comes days after military attacks occurred in Zaporizhzhia and its vicinity. Noting that the issues of the day are very important and indispensable, Grossi said, “We do have issues that have to do with nuclear safety and nuclear security, particularly at the Zaporizhzhia Nuclear Power Plant. And as you know, I have been displaying efforts to try to avoid a nuclear accident that could be very detrimental in general terms and in particular in the region. “
“As you say, the issues related to the peaceful uses of nuclear energy go down in history, and, of course, Russia has always been the main actor in all these efforts, technologically speaking and otherwise, and for the IAEA, of course, one of the main interlocutors in the many areas of work that the Agency has,” a Kremlin press release quoted Grossi.
With the energy issues and global warming, so many things are linked to nuclear energy and what the role of nuclear energy can be in the present and in the future as well.
Putin assured the Agency’s activities that Russia has always supported them all the way. “We attach great importance to the agency’s mission to which you, as its head, devote your life, years of your life.”We have always favored equal access of all states to the blessings of peaceful nuclear energy,” said the Kremlin, quoting Putin.
He said there is a presence of “elements of excessive and dangerous politicisation of anything related to nuclear activity” and hoped that the IAEA would be able to “reduce the rhetoric on this matter and return to normal conditions in this area of our activity and cooperation, regardless of the turbulent and complex processes on the world stage.”