Next move in talks ‘depends on Ukraine’

The Kremlin has told Russians to rally around President Vladimir Putin and says that what happens next in the negotiations over Ukraine will depend on Kyiv officials’ reaction to this week’s talks between the two sides.

Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov told reporters on a conference call on Friday that no documents had been agreed with Ukraine at the talks but that Russia had told the Ukrainian side how it saw the solution to the war.

Russia invaded Ukraine last week in a move it describes as a “special military operation”.

“The talks that took place were a good opportunity to clearly convey to the Ukrainian side our vision of solving this problem. Going forward, everything will depend on the reaction of the Ukrainian side,” Peskov said.

He was speaking after a second round of talks held on Thursday, after which the two sides said they had reached an understanding on the need to create humanitarian corridors to evacuate civilians.

Asked about a call by US Senator Lindsey Graham on Twitter for someone in Russia to “take out” Putin, Peskov said it was an example of hysterical Russophobia.

“Of course, these days not everyone is managing to preserve a sober mind, I would even say a sound mind,” he said.

He called for national unity from Russians.

“Now is not the time to divide, now is the time for all to unite, be together, and unite of course around our president.”

United Nations atomic chief Rafael Grossi said on Friday that no damage was done to reactors at Ukraine’s Zaporizhzhia nuclear power plant and there was no release of radioactive material after a military projectile hit a nearby building on the site.

Two members of security staff were injured when the projectile hit overnight after the Ukrainian authorities reported a battle with Russian troops near Europe’s biggest power plant, which is operating at just a small fraction of its capacity with one of its six units still running.

At a news conference called at short notice, International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) chief Grossi showed an overhead shot of the site and the building that was hit, a training centre close to but separate from the row of reactor units.

“What we understand is that this projectile is a projectile that is coming from the Russian forces. We do not have details about the kind of projectile,” Grossi said, adding that the radiation monitoring system at the site was functioning normally.

“We of course are fortunate that there was no release of radiation and that the integrity of the reactors in themselves was not compromised,” he added.

Russia’s Defence Ministry on Friday blamed the attack on Ukrainian “saboteurs”.

Reuters could not independently verify what happened in the incident.

Russia’s invasion of Ukraine is the first time war has broken out in a country with such an advanced and established nuclear power program, the IAEA says.

Zaporizhzhia is the biggest of the country’s four operational nuclear power plants, together providing about half of Ukraine’s electricity.

Grossi suggested meeting Russian and Ukrainian officials at defunct power plant Chernobyl, where Russia has seized the radioactive waste facilities near the site of the world’s worst nuclear accident in 1986, so that they could commit not to do anything to endanger nuclear security in Ukraine.

Staff on duty at Chernobyl have not been rotated out since it was seized last week despite repeated appeals by Grossi.

The situation at Zaporizhzhia was similar in that Russia controls it but Ukrainian staff continue to operate it.

“For the time being it is purely Ukrainian staff running the operations there. What we have in this case as we speak… is in Chernobyl and in Zaporizhzhia we have effective control of the site in the hands of Russian military forces. I hope the distinction is clear,” Grossi said.

Russia and Ukraine were considering his offer of a meeting at Chernobyl.

Grossi appealed overnight on both sides not to clash near Zaporizhzhia.

“I’m extremely concerned. This is something which is very, very fragile, very unstable as a situation,” he said on Friday.

Next move in talks ‘depends on Ukraine’
Independent Information