Russian envoy believes IAEA team could visit Zaporizhzhya NPP in early September

MOSCOW. Aug 19 (Interfax) - An International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) mission to the Zaporizhzhya Nuclear Power Plant (ZNPP) could take place in September unless some new factors obstruct this, Russian Permanent Representative to International Organizations in Vienna Mikhail Ulyanov said.

"All of this could be discussed and coordinated, and all of this was done in June last time. Now everything has to be started anew in some respects, and this would take time," Ulyanov said at a press briefing.

"Forecasts often do not come true, but I have the feeling that we could well speak about the first days of September, unless some extraneous factors not immediately related to an IAEA visit's goals and objectives emerge again," he said.

Asked whether the IAEA would support a proposal on setting up a demilitarized zone around the ZNPP, Ulyanov replied, "I think it won't for one simple reason: namely because the establishment of demilitarized zones has nothing to do with the IAEA's mandate."

"It would be premature now to speak about the details of a possible expected trip," he said.

"In our opinion, security considerations are most important in this case. Sending international officials, including high-ranking ones, under artillery shelling on their way to the plant or right during the mission's presence at the plant is absolutely unacceptable," Ulyanov said.

"It would be optimal to choose the safest route," he said.

"And this has no relation to Ukraine's sovereignty and territorial integrity. The IAEA is performing a purely technical mandate. And a route for the mission's trip to the Zaporizhzhya NPP doesn't affect Ukraine's sovereignty in any way," he said.

The Zaporizhzhya NPP is the largest nuclear power plant in Europe. It operates six VVER-1000 reactor units, the first of which entered operation in December 1984 and the sixth in October 1995.

The Zaporizhzhya region is partly controlled by Russian forces as a result of the special military operation being conducted in Ukraine.