In an interview with the “Voskresny Vecher” (“Sunday Evening”) broadcast with Vladimir Solovyov on the Rossiya-1 television channel, Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Maria Zakharova stated that Moscow hopes that the visit to the Zaporizhzhia NPP by International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) inspectors will finally happen soon, in spite of Kiev’s interference. IAEA Director Rafael Grossi tweeted today that the agency has formed a team, and the mission is expected to visit the Zaporizhzhia NPP within a few days.
Zakharova said of the inspection, “We are convinced that it is to take place, despite the destructive influence on this process by the Kiev regime and all those who are backing it and those who are using the nuclear facility as a mere instrument of not even blackmailing but terrorism.”
Zakharova stressed that Moscow had been insisting on such an inspection. “It has been calling for such an inspection, requesting it. Moreover, it has received full understanding from the IAEA, from its director general and for months has been sparing no effort to organize this visit. I remember how Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov met with the IAEA director general several months ago. I remember numerous contacts, telephone calls and personal meetings held by our representatives to this organization. Diplomatic efforts were focused on organizing the inspection,” she told Solovyov.
