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Ready for the "necessary assistance": the Russian President Vladimir Putin
Photo: MIKHAIL KLIMENTYEV / AFP
Russian President Vladimir Putin and his French counterpart Emmanuel Macron have called for international experts to inspect the Russian-occupied Zaporizhia nuclear power plant in southern Ukraine.
In a telephone call, the two heads of state confirmed that representatives of the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) should assess the situation on site, the Kremlin said.
Russia assured the "necessary help," it said.
The Élysée Palace also said that Macron had "stressed his concern about the risks that the situation at the Zaporizhia power plant poses for nuclear safety and security".
For days, the Russian and Ukrainian leaders have been blaming each other for the shelling of the largest nuclear power plant in Europe.
Russia also rejects international demands to withdraw its own troops from the nuclear power plant site, which they have seized in the course of the war against Ukraine that has been going on for around six months.
During a visit to the Ukrainian city of Odessa, UN Secretary-General António Guterres emphasized that the principle that the electricity from Zaporizhia is Ukrainian must be “fully respected”.
The Ukrainian power plant operator Energoatom had previously written in the online service Telegram about Russian plans to "cut off the reactors from the supply lines of the Ukrainian energy system".
Kremlin also for enlightenment in Olenivka
With a view to a visit by international nuclear experts, there had recently been disagreements about the travel arrangements.
After the phone call, the French side said that the journey should take place via Ukraine under the control of the government there.
A ceasefire is necessary for the safety of the experts, even if it is not easy to negotiate.
According to the Kremlin, Putin and Macron also spoke about the planned reconnaissance mission to Olenivka in the part of eastern Ukraine occupied by Russia, where around 50 Ukrainian prisoners of war were killed in a camp at the end of July.
Here, too, Moscow emphasized that it was willing to cooperate.
However, the United Nations recently said that the necessary assurances that would guarantee safe access still had to be worked on.
Moscow and Kyiv also blame each other for the attack on Olenivka.
atb/dpa/AFP
