It is the first direct conversation between Macron and Putin in months. Both explain again that international inspectors should be given access to the Zaporizhia nuclear power plant, which has recently been repeatedly attacked. Moscow also claims to be willing to cooperate with another mission.
Russian President Vladimir Putin and his French counterpart Emmanuel Macron have called for international experts to inspect the Russian-occupied Zaporizhia nuclear power plant in southern Ukraine. In a telephone call, the two heads of state confirmed that representatives of the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) should assess the situation on site, the Kremlin said. Russia assured the "necessary assistance", it said.
The heads of state demanded that IAEA inspectors visit the power plant "as soon as possible". The way to get here was controversial. The phone call between Macron and Putin was the first direct exchange between the two heads of state since the end of May.
For its part, the French presidential office said that Macron spoke out in favor of the “sending as soon as possible” of an expert mission from the IAEA “under conditions that Ukraine and the UN have previously agreed to”. According to information from Paris, Macron and Putin will exchange views on this again in the coming days. Russia's representative at the international organizations in Vienna, the diplomat Mikhail Ulyanov, said that the IAEA trip to Ukraine could possibly take place at the beginning of September.
For days, the Russian and Ukrainian leaders have been blaming each other for the shelling of the largest nuclear power plant in Europe. They repeatedly warn of the danger of a nuclear catastrophe. Russia rejects international demands to demilitarize the nuclear power plant - officially on the grounds that the government in Kyiv cannot ensure the safety of the nuclear facilities because of the war.
In addition, Russia and Ukraine accuse each other of planning disruptions at the Russian-controlled facility, which is run by Ukrainian technicians. Russia has now turned to the UN Security Council with allegations against Ukraine. The Ukraine is planning "provocations" there, the news agency TASS quoted from a letter from the Russian government to the committee.
Russian National Security Council Secretary Nikolai Patrushev claimed that the Ukrainian military was firing at the nuclear plant with US-supplied weapons. "If there is a disaster, the consequences will be felt in all corners of the world. Washington, London and their cronies will bear the responsibility," he told the Interfax agency at a meeting of the Shanghai Cooperation Organization (SCO ) in the Uzbek capital of Tashkent.
In the conversation with Macron, Putin accused Ukraine of attacking the nuclear power plant and warned of a "large-scale catastrophe". According to the statement, Putin spoke of "systematic bombing" of the power plant site, which threatened the "radiation of large areas". According to the Elysée Palace in Paris, Macron expressed concern about "nuclear safety" given the situation in Zaporizhia.
The Green politician Jürgen Trittin meanwhile called for urgent access for the IAEA experts. "The mixture of truths, half-truths and war propaganda can only be clarified if there is an independent on-site control," said the foreign policy spokesman for the Greens in the Bundestag. "Only then is there a realistic assessment of the danger on site." The shelling of the facility must be stopped immediately. It is outrageous that this is apparently being used for war tactics.
According to the Kremlin, Putin and Macron also spoke about the planned reconnaissance mission to Olenivka in the part of eastern Ukraine occupied by Russia, where around 50 Ukrainian prisoners of war were killed in a camp at the end of July. Here, too, Moscow emphasized that it was willing to cooperate. However, the United Nations recently said that the necessary assurances that ensure safe access still have to be worked on. Moscow and Kyiv also blame each other for the attack on Olenivka.
In an interview with Macron, the Russian President also mentioned "obstacles" to the export of "Russian food and fertilizers". These obstacles remain despite the agricultural export agreement signed by Ukraine and Russia in July. This situation "does not contribute to solving global food safety problems," the Kremlin said.
