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Deal on safe zone for Zaporizhzhia nuclear plant getting harder -IAEA

Reuters

ROME, Jan 11 (Reuters) – Brokering a deal on a safe zone around Ukraine’s Russian-controlled Zaporizhzhia nuclear power plant is getting harder because of the involvement of the military in talks, the head of the U.N. nuclear watchdog said on Wednesday.

The Soviet-era plant, Europe’s largest, was captured by Russian forces in March, soon after their invasion of Ukraine. It has repeatedly come under fire in recent months, raising fears of a nuclear disaster.

“I don’t believe that (an agreement) is impossible, but it is not an easy negotiation,” International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) Director General Rafael Grossi said in an interview with Italian public television RAI.

Grossi, who previously said he hoped to broker a deal on protecting the plant before the end of 2022, said talks with Kyiv and Moscow had become more complicated because they involve not just diplomats, but also military officers………………………..

Moscow and Kyiv have accused each other of shelling the Zaporizhzhia facility.  https://www.reuters.com/world/europe/deal-safe-zone-zaporizhzhia-nuclear-plant-getting-harder-iaea-2023-01-11/

January 12, 2023 - Posted by Christina Macpherson | safety, Ukraine