Remarks to the Press by Permanent Representative Vassily Nebenzia following the UNSC meeting regarding the attacks of Ukrainian armed forces on the Zaporozhye NPP (agenda item "Threats to international peace and security")
Q: Russia and Ukraine are accusing each other of shelling. But both of you want the IAEA to visit [the Zaporozhye NPP]. What happens now?
A: I am not sure that Ukraine wants that visit of IAEA as much as we do, although they claim the opposite. We had an opportunity to have the IAEA visit the ZNPP as early as at the beginning of June. And we made everything possible to make the conditions for that visit. But it did not happen because of the position of Kiev and its Western sponsors at that time, and also the position of the UN Secretariat who cited security reasons and concerns.
What is happening now is an obvious thing. Today even Kiev’s Western sponsors did not dare to say what they initially tried to assert – that Russia allegedly was shelling its own personnel, which was guarding the NPP and the city of Energodar. They refrained from doing that. Of course, they demonstrated the miracles of resourcefulness when trying to not call a spade a spade. Still, they did not mention that. Only Ukrainian representative said that it was Russia shelling the NPP which it is controlling.
Q: Does Russia consider the NPP to be a civilian object?
A: A nuclear power plant is a civilian object. That is why Russia is guarding it to prevent it from being damaged, because we know what the consequences would be. We warn about potential consequences that will occur if one day the shelling of the power plant leads to leakage of radioactive materials.
Q: So Russia is guarding the ZNPP and not setting up a military base, right?
A: We do not use the tactics that Ukrainian armed forces are using. They use civilian objects as a cover-up for their military, I would say. Recently, Amnesty International proved it in a report. It confirmed what we say at every UNSC meeting. And you see what happened to Amnesty International after that. Now it is being harassed for having produced that report.
Q: Why has Russia seized the ZNPP?
A: To ensure and safeguard its continued operation, which it does. The plant produces electricity and exports it as it used to before.
Q: What do you think of the proposal of the Secretary-General for a de-militarized zone?
A: I spoke about it at the session. To demilitarize the NPP would mean to make it prone to whoever wants to visit it, so to say. What their purposes and aims would be nobody knows. In this case, we cannot exclude provocations or terrorist attacks on the NPP, which we have to preserve.
Q: How can you make it for IAEA inspectors then?
A: It depends on the Ukrainian side. First of all, they should stop their reckless shelling.
Q: Can I ask a question on JCPOA? Do you think there is any time left?
A: I hope that we will finally be able to seal the deal. We know that the proposal is on the table and that the parties are discussing it. That’s all I can say.
Q: What do you think is holding Iran from accepting it?
A: I would rather not dwell onto the details of negotiations that I am not part of. But each party has interests that it wants to safeguard to ensure best possible conditions of the deal.
