UN is ready to support IAEA mission to ZNPP with consent of Ukraine and Russia
UN Secretary-General Antnio Guterres considers any attack on the nuclear power plant "suicidal" and called for international inspectors to be granted access to the Zaporizhzhia NPP.
The UN Secretary General's spokesman Stephane Jarrick told reporters on Monday, reports Censor.NЕТ with reference to Ukrinform.
"The secretary general made it clear in Tokyo that any attack on a nuclear power plant is 'suicidal,'" Jarrick said.
The secretary general's spokesman also refuted the false narratives of Russian officials who blamed the UN for not allowing an IAEA mission to the site.
"In the last few days, there have been repeated comments from various Russian officials accusing the UN Secretariat of either canceling or blocking the IAEA mission visit to the ZNPP," Jarrick said.
He noted that, first of all, the IAEA is a specialized agency that acts independently and takes decisions related to its competence.
Second, the UN Secretariat has no authority to block or cancel any activities of the IAEA.
Third, "in close contact with the IAEA, the UN Secretariat assessed that Ukraine has the logistical and security potential" to organize a visit of IAEA inspectors to the Zaporizhzhia Nuclear Power Plant from Kyiv, "if both countries agree to it," the speaker added.
Guterres visited Japan, where he delivered a speech at the weekend in Hiroshima to mark the 77th anniversary of the world's first nuclear bombing.
