IAEA Mission To Zaporizhzhia Nuclear Plant Possible In Early September: Russia

A delegation of the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) could visit the Zaporizhzhia nuclear power plant in early September, Russia's representative to the UN nuclear watchdog said on Friday.

Fears of a nuclear catastrophe have been rising as Russia and Ukraine accuse each other of shelling Europe's largest nuclear power plant, which has been under Moscow's control since March.

Addressing a news conference in Moscow via video link, Mikhail Ulyanov said the mission could take place "quite realistically be about the first days of September, unless some extraneous factors arise again."

Currently, the sides are discussing the route, the number of people who will take part in the mission, the duration of the mission and its tasks, he added.

Russia is in favor of an IAEA visit but Ukraine continues to hinder the process, he said.

"What the Ukrainian side is doing creates the impression that the Ukrainians are simply trying to prevent the mission from being carried out. It seems that they do not need it at all, and the attitude of the Ukrainian side is negative," he said.

Ulyanov characterized the situation at Zaporizhzhia as "extremely alarming," saying that the shelling by the Ukrainian military is unacceptable.

"The position of Western countries is surprising ... they refuse to condemn such actions," he said.

"I think that they do not work very well with the Ukrainians through bilateral channels either, that is, they demonstrate that, contrary to their declarations, statements, in fact, they … do not care about nuclear safety considerations," he added.

Ulyanov also opposed the assessment of Western experts that there is currently no threat of a serious catastrophe, while pointing out that several countries will be in the nuclear contamination zone in case of an accident.

Russian Deputy Foreign Minister Sergey Ryabkov echoed Ulyanov's views in a separate news conference in Moscow, slamming "the recklessness" with which countries "play with nuclear safety."

"People have completely lost their sense of reality, and for the sake of their own political and geopolitical goals, they are ready to commit a second Chernobyl," he said.

Ryabkov also criticized UN chief Antonio Guterres' "ambiguity and slyness" regarding the IAEA mission, asserting that Russia will continue to push for the visit.

'Iran nuclear deal possible in coming days'

On the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPOA), commonly known as the Iran nuclear deal, Ulyanov said it could be restored in the coming days.

"However, it is impossible to turn everything back overnight. Therefore, if an agreement on the restoration of the JCPOA is reached by Sept. 1, in the coming days, as we would like to hope, then we will really return to the previous state (of the deal's implementation) only by mid-February," he said.

On Israel's stance on the matter, Ulyanov said it does not play a significant role at the current stage.​​​​​​​ -