IAEA CEO Rafael Grossi Arrives in Moscow

UN Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) CEO Rafael Grossi arrives in Moscow on Tuesday, March 5, to summarize the situation at the Zaporizhzhia nuclear power plant, which has been under the control of the Russian military for more than two years. Grossi said he “wanted to discuss, in particular, the problem of military activity around the nuclear power plant.” Russia and Ukraine have consistently traded accusations of attacking critical infrastructure at the nuclear power plant built by the Soviet Union between 1984 and 1987.

It is possible that Russian President Vladimir Putin could meet Grossi during his visit to Russia. Presidential spokesman Dmitry Peskov said, “We do not rule out such a possibility.”

In addition, Grossi intends to raise with the Russian authorities the issue of Iran’s move to produce nuclear weapons. Before leaving for Moscow on Monday, Grossi expressed “UN concern” over Iran’s ability to produce nuclear weapons. IAEA experts are due to travel to Iran this month to inspect the Islamic Republic’s nuclear facilities. In this context, Grossi emphasized that the threats by Tehran government representatives “about the development of technology” in Iran’s possession raise “concerns about the correctness and truthfulness of Iran’s nuclear program.” Grossi called on Iranian authorities to “cooperate 100%, without ambiguity,” or else the international inspection “will not make sense.”