New York, Aug 25, (dpa/GNA) – UN Secretary General António Guterres, has said the UN, is ready to support a proposed mission to the Zaporizhzhya nuclear power plant in southern Ukraine by the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA), while issuing a warning of “self-destruction” if the situation worsens.
“The UN Secretariat is ready to support any IAEA mission from Kyiv to the Plant,” Guterres tweeted late Wednesday.
He reiterated his concern about ongoing fighting in the power plant area.
“I remain gravely concerned about the situation in and around the Nuclear Power Plant in Zaporizhzhia. Any further escalation of the situation could lead to self-destruction,” Guterres asserted.
Russia took control of Europe’s largest nuclear power plant in southern Ukraine in early March, a few days after it launched its invasion of the neighbouring country.
Fighting in the area has heightened concern over a potential nuclear disaster.
A visit to the power plant by IAEA experts, supported in principle by all sides of the conflict, has so far failed to materialize because of the question of whether the team is travelling via Russian-controlled territory or from Ukrainian territory.
The Russian Foreign Ministry has repeatedly accused the UN leadership of objecting to an agreement.
GNA