According to Mikhail Ulyanov, progress on this issue may be by the end of FebruaryMOSCOW, January 27.
/tass/. For the fifth month, Ukraine has not given an answer to the draft declaration on the creation of a protective zone around the Zaporizhia nuclear Power Plant (NPP), which has been handed over to it. This was stated on Friday by the Permanent Representative of the Russian Federation to international organizations in Vienna, Mikhail Ulyanov.
"As for the Ukrainians, they received a draft declaration on the creation of a protective zone [around the Zaporozhye NPP] on September 21 - [IAEA Director General Rafael] Grossi handed it over to [Dmitry] Kuleba, the Minister of Foreign Affairs [of Ukraine], in New York, - since then it has been the fifth month, and Ukrainians have not reacted to this document," he said on the Rossiya-24 TV channel.
Ulyanov noted that Russia at the same time clearly formulates its red lines and concerns, conducts a constant dialogue on this issue with the IAEA. "There are also areas where we agree with the agency's secretariat. That is, this is a normal conversation, but it is not between the agency's secretariat and the Ukrainian side. Hence the suspended state, this problem has been [fixed] for the fifth month," the Permanent Representative of the Russian Federation stressed.
According to him, however, Grossi considers this problem as his main priority and "is really afraid that sooner or later it will end in a nuclear accident." "He is going to break through and implement this idea, he will look for solutions to this issue. It's not working out very well so far, but this is primarily due to the position of the Ukrainian side, which does not want to commit itself to leaving the nuclear facility alone," Ulyanov added.
Ulyanov noted that progress on the creation of a protective zone around the NPP may be by the end of February, but this cannot be guaranteed. "Probably, if the previous methods of work on the creation of the zone are stalling, we need to look for some other options that would still allow us to put the Zaporozhye NPP under protection," the Russian permanent representative added.
At the same time, Ulyanov noted that the proclamation of a protective zone around the station does not guarantee that Ukrainians will not conduct shelling, but it will be much more difficult for them to do so. "By the way, I should note that since November 20, Ukrainians have not allowed shelling of the station's territory directly inside its perimeter. This is a positive moment. Although bombing happens quite regularly in the neighborhood," he said.
As the diplomat stressed, the Russian side is in close dialogue with the IAEA secretariat on this issue. "Every second day I communicate either with Grossi or with his closest employee responsible for political issues. Really normal contact, constant, consistent and generally useful, although it could, of course, be more effective," Ulyanov summed up.
In early September 2022, an IAEA mission headed by Grossi visited the Zaporozhye NPP. After that, several agency employees remained at the station as observers. Later, it published a report calling for the creation of a safety zone around the NPP to prevent emergencies due to hostilities. To discuss this project, Grossi is holding talks with representatives of the Russian and Ukrainian sides.