Moscow ready to discuss US presence at Zaporizhzhia Nuclear Power Plant, Russian nuclear giant's chief says
Russia is ready to engage in a discussion with Washington about the US presence at the Zaporizhzhia Nuclear Power Plant (NPP). Before that, the Russians had categorically refused to tackle this issue.
Source: Aleksei Likhachev, Head of Russian nuclear energy giant Rosatom, in response to a question from Kremlin-aligned Russian news agency Interfax
Quote from Likhachev: "If the country's leadership makes a political decision, we're ready to discuss this with the US side."
Details: Prior to that, the Russians had absolutely refused to discuss this issue.
Background:
On 23 April, IAEA experts at the Zaporizhzhia NPP heard loud gunshots near the main administrative building where their office is located. Additionally, the IAEA team has reported hearing explosions and gunshots almost daily over the past week at varying distances from the plant.
IAEA Director General Rafael Grossi stated that the situation is highly unstable from a nuclear safety perspective.
Earlier, President Volodymyr Zelenskyy remarked that a proposal for US control over the Zaporizhzhia NPP raises many unresolved questions. He added that a scenario where the United States, alongside Ukraine, would jointly control the plant is acceptable, though no such proposals have been made.
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