The foreign ministers of the club of industrialized nations of the G7 demanded this Wednesday that Russia to withdraw its forces from the nuclear power plant Zaporizhia and other plants in Ukraine and return them to the control of the authorities in kyiv to ensure safe operation.
The G7 – made up of the United States, the United Kingdom, Canada, Japan, France, Italy and Germany, which is currently hosting it – made this call when tensions around Europe’s largest nuclear power plant escalate.
(Also: Ukraine asks to send an international mission to the Zaporizhia nuclear power plant)
“It is the continued Russian domination of the nuclear power plant that puts the region at risk,” the ministers said in a statement, declaring “deeply concerned” about the “serious threat” emanating from the Russian occupation of the facilities. .
This “significantly increases the risk of a nuclear accident or incident and endangers the population of Ukraine and neighboring states and the international community,” they asserted.
The ministers added that Russian control also prevents the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) from implementing measures for the supervision of civilian nuclear activities in Ukraine.
In this regard, the foreign ministers expressed their support for the efforts of the director general of the UN agency, Rafael Grossi, to strengthen nuclear security in the country in the context of the conflict.
(You can read: Zelensky proposes to ban the entry of Russian citizens to Western countries)
“We underline the importance of making it possible to send IAEA experts to Zaporizhia to clarify concerns about nuclear safety and security, as well as the measures to be taken in this regard.” they highlighted.
In such a mission it would be necessary to fully respect Ukraine’s sovereignty over its territory and its infrastructure, they pointed out, meeting criticism from the Ukrainian government, which blocked an IAEA visit in June, which would supposedly “legitimize” the Russian occupation.
It is the permanence of Russian control over the nuclear power plant that puts the region at risk
“IAEA employees must have safe and unrestricted access to all nuclear power plants in Ukraine and be able to contact directly and without hindrance with the Ukrainian personnel responsible for their operation,” they stressed.
After several attacks against the Zaporizhia plant at the end of last week, kyiv and Moscow – which has controlled the plant practically since the beginning of the invasion of Ukraine – accused each other of putting the security of the facility at risk.
(Read on: How Likely Is a Putin-Zelensky Meeting? This Says Moscow)
The Zaporizhia plant, the largest nuclear plant in Europe, has six of the 15 Ukrainian reactors, capable of supplying energy for four million homes.
The Russian forces that have occupied it since March are preparing their connection with the Crimean peninsula, annexed by Moscow since 2014, according to the Ukrainian operator Energoatam.
“The Russian military present at the Zaporizhia nuclear power plant launches the Rosatom program (the Russian operator, ndlr) to connect the plant to the Crimean electricity grid,” Energoatom president Petro Kotin told Ukrainian television. .
*With information from EFE and AFP
More news
Joe Biden renews aid to Colombia to fight drug trafficking
China ends its military exercises around Taiwan
FBI Search of Trump’s House Sparks Political Storm in America
#asks #Russia #withdraw #Zaporizhia #nuclear #power #plant #Ukraine