Moscow will not transfer control over the Zaporozhye Nuclear Power Plant (ZNPP) over to Ukraine or any other country, the Russian Foreign Ministry said in a statement.
"The plant’s restoration as part of Russia’s nuclear energy industry is a reality and the international community has no choice but to accept this. It is impossible to transfer the ZNPP or control over it over to Ukraine or any other country," the statement reads.
According to the ministry, "under international law, including related conventions, it is the host nations that have the primary responsibility for ensuring nuclear safety and security on their territory." "As far as the ZNPP is concerned, this is Russia and no one else," the statement points out.
According to Moscow, "sharing the use of the ZNPP with any other country is also unacceptable. This is unprecedented in global practice." "In particular, in such a case, it would be impossible to properly ensure nuclear safety and security, and resolve the issues of civil liability for nuclear damage," the statement notes.
"Another important aspect is that Ukraine’s close cooperation with the intelligence agencies of NATO countries, which have impressive subversive capacity, makes it impossible to provide those countries with even temporary access to the ZNPP," the Russian Foreign Ministry emphasized.
According to Russia, "the idea of some international organizations coming in and operating the nuclear power plant also looks absurd because none of them has either the mandate or the competence to operate nuclear facilities."
"All of the plant’s employees are Russian citizens and their lives cannot be played with, especially given the atrocities that Ukrainians have committed - and continue to commit - on our soil," the statement adds.
The Russian Foreign Ministry issued the document "in response to numerous media speculations about the possible handover of the ZNPP to Ukraine or about Russia establishing some kind of ‘joint control’ over the plant together with Ukraine, the US or international organizations."
"The ZNPP is a Russian nuclear site. Based on the outcome of the September 2022 referendums, the Donetsk and Lugansk People’s Republics, as well as the Kherson and Zaporozhye regions, became full-fledged constituent entities of the Russian Federation. On October 5, 2022, the Russian president signed his decree No 711 ‘On the special legal regulations regarding the use of nuclear energy in the Zaporozhye Region,’ which enshrines the ZNPP’s status as a facility under Russian jurisdiction," the Russian Foreign Ministry stressed.
Bd-Pratidin English/ARK
