Russian foreign minister, IAEA chief discuss Zaporizhzhia crisis in New York talks

By Elena Teslova

MOSCOW (AA) – Russia’s foreign minister on Wednesday met the head of the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) on the sidelines of the 77th UN General Assembly in New York.

Sergey Lavrov and Rafael Grossi exchanged views on the safety of nuclear facilities in Ukraine, including the situation around the Zaporizhzhia nuclear power plant, the Russian Foreign Ministry said in a statement.

Lavrov reiterated Moscow’s “intention to continue close cooperation with the IAEA in order to force the Kyiv regime to immediately stop the shelling” of Zaporizhzhia and its adjacent territories, the statement said.

Zaporizhzhia, Europe’s largest nuclear power plant, has been under Russian control since March.

There have been growing concerns of a nuclear disaster as Moscow and Kyiv accuse each other of attacks on the nuclear facility.

A team of IAEA experts inspected the facility this month, after which Grossi said in a report to the UN Security Council that attacks on the nuclear plant were like “playing with fire” and could lead to “something very catastrophic.”