Interview by Permanent Representative of the Russian Federation to   the International Organizations in Vienna Mikhail Ulyanov to TASS news agency

Was the issue of creating a nuclear safety and security protection zone at the ZNPP discussed at a session of the IAEA Board of Governors? If so, did negotiations on this topic receive any progress? In what formats are consultations currently taking place and what options are being considered to resolve this issue? Is it planned to visit IAEA Director General Rafael Grossi to Moscow to continue consultations on the creation of a protective zone at the ZNPP?

The March session of the IAEA Board of Governors opened today. In addition to the introductory statement by the Director General of the Agency RafaelGrossi, a discussion took place on the reviews prepared by the Secretariat on nuclear safety and security. The main «politically charged» topics will apparently be discussed on the third and fourth days of the current session. These are the Iranian nuclear program, the trilateral partnership of Australia, the United Kingdom and the United States for the implementation of the project for the transfer of nuclear-powered submarines to Canberra, and Ukraine.

On Ukraine, the first «exchange of pleasantries» between us and Westerners has already taken place. We rebuffed attempts by Western countries to accuse us of undermining nuclear security in Ukraine and, in general, of carrying out «illegal and unjustified aggression against a neighboring state».

The issue of creating a nuclear safety and security protection zone at the Zaporozhskaya NPP was clearly mentioned in the opening speech of Rafel Grossi. The Director General said directly that this is the most important topic, the promotion of which is necessary to prevent a serious nuclear accident with unpredictable consequences. The head of the Agency's Secretariat confirmed that, despite all the difficulties, he did not intend to give up his initiative.

South Korea spoke out in support of the creation of the «zone». The Americans and the British spoke of their full support for the Director General's efforts to ensure nuclear safety. However, it is significant that they did not mention the «protection zone» directly. I must say that negotiations on this «zone» are clearly stalled. Today, the Minister of Energy of Ukraine even said that they are in a «dead end». This statement confirms the impression that the Ukrainians are not ready to commit themselves not to shell the nuclear plant and are looking for irrelevant excuses to justify it. Under these conditions, there is no need for Rafael Grossi to visit Moscow. The Director General and Western countries should further work with Kiev on the issue of the «zone».

Is there any progress in negotiations on the Iranian nuclear program? Was an understanding reached between Iran and the IAEA during Grossi's visit to Tehran? Is there a possibility of resuming negotiations on a Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPOA) on the Iranian nuclear program?

Grossi's visit to Tehran at the end of last week was quite constructive. The Director General met with the President of Iran, the Minister of Foreign Affairs and the head of the Atomic Energy Organization. Additional verification and monitoring measures at Iranian nuclear facilities are outlined, which have yet to be finalized. A statement was received from the Iranian side about its readiness to cooperate with the Secretariat of the Agency on undeclared uranium particles discovered several years ago at three sites in Iran. As for the resumption of negotiations on the restoration of the JCPOA, there is no movement here. Iran, as well as Russia and China, are ready to finalize an already almost completely agreed decision to return to the original parameters of the nuclear deal. On the part of the «E3» (France, Germany and the UK) and the United States, there is no such readiness yet.

What other issues were discussed during the meeting of the IAEA Board of Governors and were any specific agreements reached?

The agenda for this session is quite extensive. It is expected that a number of important documents prepared by the Secretariat will be taken into account after discussion. As for some other specific agreements or decisions, there are situations when it is better to do without them. For example, last year's resolutions of the Board of Governors on Iran, as we warned, had extremely negative consequences and led to a significant reduction in the Agency's ability to carry out inspections and surveillance on Iranian territory. I would like to hope that the Western countries have nevertheless learned the proper lessons from this and will refrain from such extremely counterproductive actions at the current session.