MOSCOW. May 31 (Interfax) - Russian Deputy Foreign Minister Alexander Grushko has accused Kiev of not wanting to assume the obligation not to attack the Zaporozhye Nuclear Power Plant (NPP) and has stressed that Russia will take all necessary actions to boost its security, but has no intention of placing military contingents and equipment for offensive actions on the plant's territory.
"We will continue protecting the plant in such a way as to prevent Kiev and the 'collective West' from violating them in a rude and irresponsible way," Grushko said, responding to questions from the media, which was published on the Russian Foreign Ministry's website.
"We have never placed and we do not plan to place on the territory of the Zaporozhye NPP military contingents and military equipment intended for offensive actions. Only those forces that are necessary for its protection from Ukrainian attacks, as well as for dealing with their possible aftermath, are located at the Zaporozhye NPP," Grushko said.
"Kiev has blocked all initiatives of the [International Atomic Energy Agency] IAEA director general aimed at boosting security of the Zaporozhye NPP," he said. "The IAEA director general and the Agency's Secretariat, with Russia's assistance, did a lot of work in this direction, but this initiative was never implemented due to Kiev's inability to reach agreements and its unwillingness to assume obligations not to fire on the Zaporozhye NPP," he said.
"Kiev's persistence in creating risks to the Zaporozhye NPP's safe operation has an explanation," he said. "The thing is that Ukraine in this issue, like in many others, was deprived of legal standing. The administration of this country is closely fulfilling the demands made by Washington and London," Grushko said.
He called on the IAEA Secretariat to disclose the information it has on Ukrainian attacks on the Zaporozhye NPP and condemn Kiev's actions. "We hope the Agency's administration will demonstrate that the organization is unbiased in this issue," Grushko said.