Russia: Too dangerous for IAEA to go through Kyiv to visit Zaporizhzhia nuclear plant

(Reuters) – Any mission undertaken by the U.N.’s nuclear company to examine Ukraine’s Zaporizhzhia plant can’t go by the capital Kyiv as it’s too harmful, a senior Russian diplomat was quoted by Russian information companies as saying on Tuesday.

“Think about what it means to go by Kyiv — it means they get to the nuclear plant by the entrance line,” RIA information company quoted Igor Vishnevetsky, deputy head of the international ministry’s nuclear proliferation and arms management division as telling journalists.

“This can be a big danger, on condition that Ukraine’s armed forces usually are not all made up in the identical method.”

U.N. spokesperson Stephane Dujarric stated on Monday in New York that the U.N. Secretary had assessed that it had the logistics and safety capability to have the ability to assist any IAEA mission to the Russian-controlled Zaporizhzhia plant from Kyiv.

Tass information company quoted Vishnevetsky as saying that any such mission had no mandate to deal with the “demilitarisation” of the plant as demanded by Kyiv because it may solely take care of “achievement of IAEA ensures”.

(Reporting by Ronald Popeski; Modifying by Sandra Maler)