Russian official: IAEA proposal for secure zone around Zaporizhzhia nuclear plant is ‘reasonable’

(Reuters) – A senior Russian official said on Tuesday that Moscow was generally supportive of the idea of creating a secure zone around the Zaporizhzhia nuclear power plant, the TASS news agency reported.

Mikhail Ulyanov, Russia’s ambassador to international institutions in Vienna, where the International Atomic Energy Agency is based, was responding to long-standing calls by the U.N. nuclear watchdog for a de-escalation of the conflict near the plant, Europe’s largest nuclear facility.

“The essence (of the IAEA proposal) in a nutshell is that you cannot shoot from the territory of the nuclear station and you cannot shoot at the station. Quite a reasonable idea, which we generally support. The question, as always, is in the details,” TASS quoted Ulyanov as saying.

(Reporting by Reuters; Editing by Kevin Liffey)