The IAEA Board of Governors in its resolution urged Russia to withdraw troops and other Russian personnel from the Zaporizhzhya Nuclear Power Plant. The IAEA stressed the need to abandon unreasonable claims to ownership of the plant and to stop any activities at Ukrainian nuclear facilities, Radio Liberty reports citing the document.
On 17 November, the majority of the Council members, consisting of 35 countries, voted for the resolution. It states that experts have not found any signs of the creation of the so-called dirty bombs at Ukrainian nuclear facilities, which the occupiers had been talking about.
“We call upon the Russian Federation to immediately withdraw its military and other personnel from the Zaporizhzhya Nuclear Power Plant, in order for the competent Ukrainian authorities to regain full control of the plant to ensure its safe and secure operation, and in order for the Agency to fully and safely conduct its safeguards verification activities, in accordance with Ukraine’s Comprehensive Safeguards Agreement, entered into pursuant to the Treaty on the Non-Proliferation of Nuclear Weapons and the Statute, and the Additional Protocol thereto,” the document reads.
This document is the third one dedicated by the IAEA to the problem of nuclear safety in Ukraine since the beginning of the full-scale Russian invasion. It was opposed by Russia and China. Seven countries - India, Pakistan, Saudi Arabia, Vietnam, South Africa, Kenya and Namibia - did not vote.
Other members of the governing board: Argentina, Australia, Brazil, Bulgaria, Burundi, Canada, Colombia, Costa Rica, Czech Republic, Denmark, Finland, France, Germany, Guatemala, Ireland, Japan, Libya, Republic of Korea, Singapore, Slovenia, Qatar, Switzerland, Turkey, Uruguay, United Kingdom, United States, Uruguay.