The head of the U.N. nuclear watchdog agency said Wednesday he met with Ukraine's and Russia's foreign ministers in a bid to establish a safety and security zone around a nuclear plant in southeastern Ukraine that is Europe's largest. The Zaporizhzhia power plant has faced almost daily shelling and bombardment, raising fears of a nuclear accident.
Rafael Grossi, director-general of the International Atomic Energy Agency, said that as a result of the separate meetings with Ukraine’s Dmytro Kuleba and Russia’s Sergey Lavrov, work has already begun on establishing and shaping the zone. He said he hopes to visit Kyiv soon, and “perhaps later on" go to Russia.
“Given the urgency of the situation and the gravity of what’s going on in the field we have to move fast," Grossi said. Both nations, he said, share "a conviction that the establishment of the zone is indispensable.”
