IAEA Director General Planning To Visit Zaporizhzhia NPP In Ukraine Soon - Reports

MOSCOW (UrduPoint News / Sputnik - 20th May, 2022) International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) Director General Rafael Grossi said he is planning to visit the Zaporizhzhia nuclear power plant (NPP) in southern Ukraine in the nearest future, Japanese media reported on Friday.

Grossi announced the visit during the meeting with Japanese Prime Minister Fumio Kishida in Tokyo on Friday.

Japanese news agency Kyodo cited Grossi as telling Kishida that it is important to ensure the NPP's safety. The prime minister, for his part, told Grossi that Tokyo "highly regards the IAEA's efforts."

On Thursday, Grossi held talks with Japanese Foreign Minister Yoshimasa Hayashi, during which the parties agreed to cooperate on securing safety for NPPs in Ukraine. Hayashi pledged $2.1 million in assistance to the IAEA to provide the necessary equipment and dispatch IAEA experts, as cited by Kyodo.

In April, Grossi already led a group of IAEA inspectors and technicians to the Chernobyl NPP in northern Ukraine to intensify efforts in preventing the threat of a nuclear accident during the Russian military operation.

During the visit, IAEA specialists restored the remote transfer of the safeguards data from its monitoring systems installed at the plant and recovered data from the monitoring systems.

On March 4, Russian forces took full control over the Zaporizhzhia NPP. Russian troops and Ukrainian soldiers of the NPP guard battalion reached an agreement to jointly secure the plant. Russian specialists provide advisory assistance to Ukrainian plant personnel, who are in charge of the management and the operation of the Zaporizhzhia NPP.

Russia launched its special military operation on February 24 after the breakaway Donetsk and Luhansk people's republics applied for help in fending off Ukrainian provocations. The international community has since been voicing concerns over the safety of the plants and possible nuclear incidents. However, Russian, Ukrainian, and IAEA specialists repeatedly stressed that the safety of the plants is ensured and background radiation remains within normal levels.