The head of the IAEA announced the possibility of a permanent presence of the mission at the ZNPP

The presence of IAEA experts at the Zaporozhye NPP may become permanent. Such a statement did the head of the organization, Rafael Grossi, in an interview with radio station RFI.

Grossi did not rule out that as a result of the mission’s visit to the station, it would be possible to establish the permanent presence of experts at the facility.

“From a technical point of view, it is necessary to define the parameters of the mission, decide what we can do, and also, possibly, establish a permanent presence of the agency on the ground,” the organization’s CEO said.

He also noted the complexity of the IAEA’s mission. According to him, the arrival of experts to the station through the war zone is not so easy to implement. Grossi added that it is necessary to choose a safe route and get support from the UN, which will help the experts get to the ZNPP.

On the eve it became known that the IAEA wants to visit the ZNPP before September 5. About this Bloomberg reported diplomats aware of the visit. On the same day the organization commented the first ever shutdown of the station from the power grid.

Grossi expressed concern about the situation at the ZNPP, which is under the control of the Russian military. “I am determined to personally lead the IAEA mission to nuclear power plants in the next few days to help stabilize the nuclear safety situation there,” the head of the IAEA stressed.

On August 16, it became known about the start of preparations for the second IAEA mission to ZNPP. Mikhail Ulyanov, permanent representative to international organizations in Vienna, said that the preparations are still going slowly because of Grossi’s vacation. A week later, the IAEA director said that the mission could take place within a few days if negotiations were successful.

On August 23, an urgent meeting of the UN Security Council was held due to the situation at the ZNPP, during which Vasily Nebenzya, Permanent Representative of the Russian Federation to the UN, reported on photographic evidence of shelling of the ZNPP by Ukraine distributed by Russia in the Council and the UN General Assembly. He noted that since the last meeting of the UN Security Council, the situation at ZNPP had deteriorated significantly, and expressed hope that the IAEA mission would take place in the near future.

On August 24, President of Ukraine Volodymyr Zelensky, during his speech via video link at a meeting of the UN Security Council, said that the Russian military should leave the territory of the Zaporozhye nuclear power plant, and control over the plant should be transferred to the IAEA mission.

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