“A very strong concern and concern”: this is how Emmanuel Macron describes the situation in Zaporizhia. Asked about the issue, this Friday, on the sidelines of his trip to Algeria, the President of the Republic spoke about the situation of the Ukrainian nuclear power plant, disconnected yesterday from the national network, due to the reconnection of one of its reactors today.
“There is a very strong concern and anxiety about nuclear safety,” he acknowledged. The plant, occupied by the Russians, was the object of bombings of which the two belligerents accused each other.
A planned IAEA visit to the plant
A visit by the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) to the plant site is planned in the coming days. Emmanuel Macron assures that he is in contact with this authority, as well as with the Russian and Ukrainian presidents, to allow an inspection in good conditions.
“Since last March, I have made a commitment to the president of the IAEA to do everything possible to protect first Chernobyl and now Zaporizhia. I met with the director general yesterday morning after many contacts during the summer and contacts with the presidents Zelensky and Putin,” says Emmanuel. Macron.
Asked by France 24, Rafael Mariano Grossi, director of the IAEA, assured that in the face of “real risks” a visit would be organized “within a few days.”
“Civilian nuclear power should not be an instrument of war”
The president asked that the war in Ukraine not affect “the nuclear security of the country, of the subregion and of all of us. And therefore, civil nuclear energy must be fully protected.” “Civilian nuclear power should not be an instrument of war,” he insists.
“Russia has put the Ukrainians, like all Europeans, on the brink of a nuclear catastrophe,” accuses President Volodymyr Zelensky. An accident at the plant could release a radioactive cloud over much of Europe.
Source: BFM TV
