Moscow denies US control over Zaporizhzhia NPP, but supports position on Crimea

Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov, photo: Getty Images

Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov has said that Moscow does not intend to transfer the Zaporizhzhia nuclear power plant to joint control of the United States and Ukraine.

He said this in an interview with the US television channel CBS, the text of which was published on the website of the Russian Foreign Ministry.

Answering a journalist's question about the possibility of joint management of ZNPP, Sergei Lavrov said that Russia had not received such a proposal and would have refused it even if it had. He stressed that the plant is operated by «Rosatom» under the supervision of the IAEA.

Advertising

In addition, the Russian foreign minister added that Moscow is not negotiating territorial concessions, commenting on Donald Trump's remarks on the status of Crimea. Lavrov said that Trump «told the truth» and reminded that the issue of territorial integrity is not negotiable for Russia.

Lavrov also called Trump «the only world leader who is aware of the need to address the root causes of the war», among which he mentioned Ukraine's aspirations to join NATO and «violations of the rights of Russian-speaking Ukrainians».

In conclusion, Lavrov said that negotiations with the US on Ukraine are ongoing, and, according to him, «there are signs of movement in the right direction».

«We continue our contacts with the American side on the situation in Ukraine. There are a number of signs that we are moving in the right direction,» the Russian foreign minister added.

Earlier, President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said that Ukraine was not discussing the ownership of its nuclear power plants with the United States. All of them, including the temporarily seized Zaporizhzhia NPP, belong to the state, which is recognised by the IAEA.

The Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Ukraine also condemned the violation of Ukraine' s sovereignty and territorial integrity through the rotation of IAEA staff at the Zaporizhzhia nuclear power plant, which for the first time took place without the consent of the Ukrainian side.