Maria Zakharova, the official representative of the Russian Ministry of Foreign Affairs, said that there is no question of Russia transferring control of the Zaporozhye nuclear power plant to a third party.
“There can be no talk of the withdrawal of the ZNPP from Russian control or the transfer of control over it to a third party,” he said in an interview with. DEA News.
Currently, the station “is located on Russian territory and is fully controlled by Russia,” he said. According to the diplomat, the Russian side is acting on the fact that “only we can ensure the physical and nuclear security of the Zaporozhye NPP”.
“Talk outside of time”
Rafael Grossi, head of the International Atomic Energy Agency, had previously visited the station and later said that the withdrawal of weapons from the region would be part of a tripartite agreement between Moscow, Kyiv and the agency. And Paris should act as an intermediary in the negotiations.
Commenting on the statement of the head of the IAEA, Zakharova emphasized that the experts are close to an acceptable agreement between the Russian Federation and Ukraine on the creation of a security zone around the ZNPP, but there is no direct negotiations between Russia and Ukraine on this issue. this issue.
According to him, the Russian side is discussing the ZNPP issue with the IAEA Secretariat, which is negotiating with Ukraine.
“It is premature to say that the parties are close to an agreement. It is in principle whether Kiev is ready to stop the shelling and attempts to seize the ZNPP, and at the same time whether the IAEA can ensure the implementation of such hypothetical agreements by the Ukrainians,” said Zakharova.
“Don’t look where it can’t be”
Petr Kotin, head of Ukraine’s Energoatom, announced at the end of November that there are signs of the possibility of abandonment of the nuclear power plant by Russian forces.
Kotin later said in the broadcast of the telethon, “First of all, many publications began to appear in the Russian press that maybe the Zaporizhzhya NPP should be abandoned, maybe it should be brought under control to the IAEA.”
Commenting on Kotin’s words, the Kremlin asked not to look for “some signs that were not and cannot be”.
The military-civil administration of Energodar also reported that the station employees were referred to the Russian judiciary, and there was no mention of any transfer. “As evidence, it is worth noting that on November 25, the Rosenergoatom administration announced its plans to create a backup energy source for the Zaporozhye NPP,” the Telegram channel said. “Energodarsky liaison”.
“The staff receives salary cards from Promsvyazbank and, accordingly, a higher salary than their previous contracts with NAEK.
At the same time, residents of Energodar, including employees of the Zaporizhzhya NPP, issue passports of citizenship of the Russian Federation.
On March 1, 2022, the Russian authorities announced that they had taken control of the areas around the ZNPP. Three days later, it was announced that the station had been seized. President Vladimir Putin signed a decree on the transfer of the station to the state property of the Russian Federation in early October.