IAEA establishes high-level Kyiv-Moscow dialogue on nuclear safety: Chief

The International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) said it has succeeded in establishing a direct dialogue on nuclear security between Russia and Ukraine at a high level

The International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) has succeeded in establishing a direct dialogue on nuclear security between Russia and Ukraine at a high level, IAEA Director General Rafael Mariano Grossi said on Thursday.

On Thursday, Grossi held meetings with the foreign ministers of Russia and Ukraine, as well as delegations from both countries in Antalya, Turkey.

"My first goal was to establish a direct dialogue at a very high level. That is very important to pass the key messages of the action and what is being proposed. And this was achieved. We had good meetings, not easy ones, but serious meetings talking into the substance of the issues we would like to do... Both sides agree that this initiative of ours is worth perusing and something needs to be done and they are both ready to work and to engage to the IAEA to materialize this in some agreed format," Grossi said after returning to Vienna from Antalya.

When asked about whether or not he had secured guarantees that both sides would abstain from using weapons at or near nuclear facilities, he answered negatively, explaining that they did not discuss what would be included in the agreed framework.

"We are presenting some ideas, we are going to be discussing and there is a high probability of a meeting very soon," Grossi added.

Ukraine informed the IAEA on Wednesday that the defunct Chernobyl nuclear power plant had been disconnected from the electricity grid. However, it would not have a critical impact on safety at the site as the cooling of spent nuclear fuel is still maintained thanks to reserve diesel generators.

According to the agency, eight of Ukraine's 15 reactors are still operating despite the ongoing hostilities and some of them are falling under the control of the Russian forces.