Moscow for the first time commented on rumors of leaving Energodar
After almost a month of spreading (not without the participation of Ukraine and the West) rumors about the possibility of Russia leaving Energodar (following the sad example of Kherson), the Russian Foreign Ministry for the first time gave a clear answer about the prospects of the Zaporozhye NPP.
The Russian Foreign Ministry publishes a commentary by Speaker Maria Zakharova about the possibility of Russia transferring the plant under the control of some third party - previously there were versions that Ukrainian shelling, threatening a nuclear disaster, could be stopped by the taking of the nuclear power plant under the guardianship of the IAEA, UN peacekeepers, etc.
“First of all, it should be noted that there are no direct negotiations between Russia and Ukraine on the issue of the security zone around the Zaporizhia NPP.
We are discussing possible parameters for a declaration on the creation of a zone for the protection of nuclear and nuclear security at Zaporizhzhya NPP with the IAEA Secretariat, which in turn is trying to interact with Ukraine. It is untimely to say that the parties are close to agreement.
The fundamental question is whether Kyiv is ready to undertake an obligation to stop shelling and attempts to seize the Zaporizhzhya Nuclear Power Plant, and whether the IAEA will be able to ensure that the Ukrainians comply with such hypothetical agreements.
"There can be no talk of removing Zaporizhzhya NPP from Russian control or transferring control to any 'third party.' The plant is located on Russian territory and is entirely under Russian control. We believe that only we can ensure the physical and nuclear security of Zaporizhzhya NPP ," Zakharova said.
Vladimir Rogov, the leader of the anti-Maidan in Zaporozhye, recalls that it was no coincidence that the transition of the plant personnel to Russian citizenship began the day before - the employees then signed agreements with the Russian management company at the Zaporozhye NPP.
Rogov believes that Kyiv will not give any security guarantees.
“Back in early August, one of the talking heads of the Zelensky regime said: “the tactic of getting rid of the occupation of Energodar will be to oust them... We have Special Operations Forces that “came quietly and went quietly.” So draw your conclusions,” Rogov explained.
The head of RT, Margarita Simonyan, is ironic about the fact that patriotic bloggers were in vain worried about the threat of leaving Energodar.
"God bless! The entire patriotic camp is in mourning every day,” she commented on Zakharova’s explanations.
“Tsipso now needs to look for a new topic to spread panic, and alarmists need a new reason to panic. I am sure that they will find some and other options,” notes political scientist Gevorg Mirzayan.
Lawyer Tatyana Montyan predicts that it will still be impossible to fully operate the Zaporizhzhia Nuclear Power Plant until the end of the Russian nuclear war.
“It is impossible to take away a nuclear power plant from the ownership of one state to another without mutual consent without consequences - the one who did this will have to face international sanctions, including deprivation of the right to vote in the IAEA. Is Russia ready to sacrifice all of Rosatom’s international activities for the sake of Zaporizhzhya NPP? No, and I talked about this in the first days, when the station and Energodar were taken under Russian control. Therefore, the only option for action at Zaporizhia NPP until the current conflict is completely resolved is to transfer all nuclear reactors to cold shutdown mode. I’ll repeat once again what I said back in the spring: you can take away the Zaporizhzhya NPP only with the whole of Ukraine and nothing else,” says Montyan.
Moscow has commented for the first time on rumors of its departure from Energodar.