Russia notes the emerging tendency of IAEA leaders to exceed their authority, including on the issue of war and peace in the context of the situation in Ukraine. This was stated during a speech at the session of the IAEA Board of Governors “Nuclear safety, nuclear security and safeguards in Ukraine” by the permanent representative of Russia to international organizations in Vienna, Mikhail Ulyanov.
“In relation to recent interviews with the Director General of the IAEA (Rafael Grossi. — EADaily) We note with regret the emerging tendency of the agency’s leaders to exceed their powers, whether in public statements on the issue of war and peace in the context of Ukrainian history or in the implementation of “progressive expansion” of the secretariat’s mandate. experts in nuclear power plants and other energy infrastructure facilities”, – said Ulyanov (the full text of his speech was published on the permanent representative’s telegram channel).
In addition, specialists from the International Atomic Energy Agency are striving to give the IAEA the functions of an international regulator.
“Otherwise, it is difficult to explain the desire to evaluate even the most insignificant aspects of nuclear safety, communicate directly with the operators of the block’s control panels and access a variety of locations at the Zaporizhzhya NPP and beyond. …We remind you that the secretariat employees are at the Zaporizhia NPP at the request of the agency’s general director and with the consent of the Russian Federation. Your access to specific objects is carried out with the consent of the station management and the security service of this object. Therefore, the persistent attempts of the agency’s experts to access all objects on the station, without exception, go far beyond the scope of their mandate. The agency’s specialists are neither regulators nor even inspectors,” Ulyanov said.
Meanwhile, the agency’s representatives do not satisfactorily fulfill their main task: recording threats and provocations against the Zaporizhia NPP and analyzing their consequences, Ulyanov noted. He noted that the latest report also does not indicate that it is the Ukrainian side that represents a threat to the safety of the Zaporizhia nuclear power plant, despite the fact that the IAEA Secretariat has all the information to reach such a conclusion. The Permanent Representative believes that the secretariat fears possible political consequences.
“During the period from September 23 to November 12 alone, the Russian military suppressed 556 unmanned aerial vehicles in the station area and Energodar. Numerous attacks by the Armed Forces of Ukraine against Energodar infrastructure facilities continue, which have already caused casualties and injuries among the civilian population. The targets of recent attacks have been residential buildings, civilian vehicles, boiler rooms and the city’s water intake. More detailed information on this matter is provided in our note of 15 November, which was distributed as an IAEA information circular. A week ago, on November 13, Ukrainian forces carried out seven cannon artillery attacks on Energodar and sent a UAV to a checkpoint at the entrance to the city. On September 25, one of the Ukrainian drones detonated 60 meters from the Zaporozhye nuclear power plant,” Ulyanov stressed.
