IAEA head insists on safety zone surrounding ZNPP

BRUSSELS. Jan 24 (Interfax) - The situation surrounding the Zaporozhye Nuclear Power Plant (ZNPP) remains tense, and it is necessary to ensure that this facility is safe from military action, International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) Director General Rafael Grossi said.

"We have established our presence there [at the NPP]. This is what let me to propose the establishment of a nuclear safety and protection zone around the plant, which in plain English is simply establishing an area that should be excluded from military action," he said during hearings of the European Parliament's Committee on Foreign Affairs and Subcommittee on Security and Defense on Tuesday.

"The principle being do not shoot at the plant or do not use the plant to place military equipment to attack the other side," he said.

It has been discussed for a while now, he said. Grossi added that he is frequently asked the question why the issue with the ZNPP's protection is taking such a long time to be resolved, and with difficulties. "The issue here is that every proposal, every measure that is envisaged has to be or is looked through the prism of military activities and the respective objectives that each one has," he said, adding that the discussion deals not just with technical aspects, and militaries, diplomats, and politicians are involved in it.