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IAEA / GROSSI ZAPORIZHZHIA PLANT
STORY: IAEA / GROSSI ZAPORIZHZHIA PLANT
TRT: 3:47
SOURCE: IAEA
RESTRICTIONS: NONE
LANGUAGE: ENGLISH / NATS
DATELINE: 01 SEPTEMBER 2022, ZAPORIZHZHIA, UKRAINE
1. SOUNDBITE (English) Rafael Mariano Grossi, Director General, International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA):
“We are not going anywhere. The IAEA is now there, is at the plant and it's not moving. It's going to stay there. We're going to have a continued presence there at the plant with some of my experts. And of course, there is now we have with my team here we have a lot of work in terms of a detailed analysis of some of the more technical aspects of what we saw. I think you need to come here to worry about the plant. I worried, I worry and I will continue to be worried about the plant until we have a situation which is more stable, which is more predictable. It is obvious that that the plant and the physical integrity of the plant has been violated several times by chance, by deliberation. We don't have the elements to assess that. But this is a reality that we that we have to recognize and this is something that cannot continue to happen. Wherever you stay, wherever you stand. Wherever you think about this war. This is something that cannot happen and this is why we are trying to put in place certain mechanisms and the presence as I said, of our people there to try to be in a better in a better place. There are two groups, there is a group that is going to be there until Sunday or Monday, continuing with the assessment, in a certain sense continuing what I started today, in the same places I was looking today we could draw up a number of questions and initial observations, initial assessments, and they are going to dig deeper into that so we can have our report. As you know, I have to report back to the Board of Governors of the IAEA and then we are establishing a continued presence there. Our resident sort of, presence of the IEA experts at the plant in the hope that they as I said earlier today in the morning of his day, so that they can continue to provide me and all of us with an impartial, neutral technically sound assessment of whatever it may be happening. The Ukrainian employees, I was with them throughout the throughout the day. Of course, they are in a difficult situation but they have an incredible degree of professionalism and I see them calm and moving on This morning, the situation was pretty difficult. But as I said having come this far, I was not going to stop and with my courageous team we moved in. There were moments where fire was obvious, heavy machine gun, artillery, mortars at two or three times with really very concerning, I would say, for all of us. We had splendid support from the United Nations Security team that is here with me as well. So I think we showed that the international community is there, could be there and we are continuing this. I would summarize I need to continue my trip now. I will summarize by saying that our work has only started now. Thank you very much.”
IAEA Director General Rafael Mariano Grossi told reporters, “it is obvious that that the Plant and the physical integrity of the Plant has been violated several times by chance, by deliberation. We don't have the elements to assess that. But this is a reality that we that we have to recognize and this is something that cannot continue to happen.”
Speaking to reporters after returning from Zaporizhzhya Nuclear Power Plant on Thursday (01 Sep), Grossi said, “We are not going anywhere. The IAEA is now there, is at the plant and it's not moving. It's going to stay there. We're going to have a continued presence there at the plant with some of my experts. And of course, there is now we have with my team here we have a lot of work in terms of a detailed analysis of some of the more technical aspects of what we saw. I think you need to come here to worry about the plant. I worried, I worry and I will continue to be worried about the plant until we have a situation which is more stable, which is more predictable.”
He also said, “wherever you stay, wherever you stand. Wherever you think about this war. This is something that cannot happen and this is why we are trying to put in place certain mechanisms and the presence as I said, of our people there to try to be in a better in a better place.”
Grossi also told reporters that there are two groups of experts, “there is a group that is going to be there until Sunday or Monday, continuing with the assessment, in a certain sense continuing what I started today, in the same places I was looking today we could draw up a number of questions and initial observations, initial assessments, and they are going to dig deeper into that so we can have our report. As you know, I have to report back to the Board of Governors of the IAEA and then we are establishing a continued presence there. Our resident sort of, presence of the IEA experts at the plant in the hope that they as I said earlier today in the morning of this day, so that they can continue to provide me and all of us with an impartial, neutral technically sound assessment of whatever it may be happening.”
The Director General also said, “the Ukrainian employees, I was with them throughout the throughout the day. Of course, they are in a difficult situation but they have an incredible degree of professionalism and I see them calm and moving on This morning, the situation was pretty difficult. But as I said having come this far, I was not going to stop and with my courageous team we moved in. There were moments where fire was obvious, heavy machine gun, artillery, mortars at two or three times with really very concerning, I would say, for all of us. We had splendid support from the United Nations Security team that is here with me as well. So I think we showed that the international community is there, could be there and we are continuing this. I would summarize I need to continue my trip now. I will summarize by saying that our work has only started now.”
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