U.S., UK, French and German leaders stress the importance of ensuring the safety of the Zaporozhye nuclear power plant
China News Service, August 22. According to foreign media reports, US President Biden, British Prime Minister Johnson, French President Macron and German Chancellor Scholz talked on the phone on August 21 to discuss the situation around the Zaporozhye nuclear power plant in Ukraine. . The leaders of the four countries called for military restraint, stressing the importance of ensuring the safety of Ukraine’s Zaporozhye nuclear power plant.
According to reports, the White House said in a statement that the leaders of the four countries discussed the situation in Zaporozhye by telephone, “including the need to avoid military action near the nuclear power plant.”
10 Downing Street issued a statement saying leaders in a joint conference call stressed the importance of firmly supporting Ukraine’s extraordinary military operation against Russia and ensuring the safety and security of nuclear facilities.
German Chancellor Scholz’s spokesman also said that the four leaders called on the International Atomic Energy Agency’s independent investigators to “expeditiously” visit the Zaporozhye nuclear power plant.
It was previously reported that the Zaporozhye nuclear power plant, near the city of Enier Godar, is the largest nuclear power plant in Europe and is now controlled by the Russian military. The nuclear power plant and surrounding areas have been under continuous artillery fire recently, and both Russia and Ukraine have accused each other of launching the attack.
The Ukrainian side accused the Russian army of “deliberately” attacking the Zaporozhye nuclear power plant facilities and “nuclear blackmail” against the Ukrainian side. Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky demanded that all Russian troops immediately and unconditionally withdraw from the nuclear power plant and surrounding areas.
Konashenkov, a spokesman for the Russian Ministry of Defense, recently emphasized that Russia has not deployed heavy weapons in the nuclear power plant and surrounding areas, only security forces are taking all necessary measures to ensure the safety of the nuclear power plant.