Biden, Macron, Schulz and Johnson insist on starting the mission to the Ukrainian nuclear plant

The leaders of the United States, France, Germany and the United Kingdom reiterated on Sunday (21) that the mission of the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) to the Ukrainian nuclear reactor in Zaporizhia, currently controlled by Russian forces, must begin quickly.

According to the French presidential palace, Joe Biden, Emmanuel Macron, Olaf Scholz and Boris Johnson spoke on a conference call about the plight of Europe’s largest nuclear power plant, which has been the subject of mutual accusations between Kyiv and Moscow for weeks on end. Explosions in its vicinity.

The French presidency said the four Western leaders “stressed the importance of allowing the International Atomic Energy Agency mission on the ground whenever possible with the necessary security guarantees.”

In order for this visit to take place, Macron spoke by phone on Friday (19) with Vladimir Putin, and, according to his office, he obtained the approval of the Russian president so that the conditions set would be approved by both the Ukrainian authorities and the United Nations.

The presence of the war front near the Zaporizhzhya facility, which has been under Russian control since March, and the military operations carried out there raise fears of a nuclear catastrophe that could affect not only Ukraine.

The US and French presidents, the German chancellor and the British prime minister, in their conversation on Sunday, reaffirmed their intention to “permanently support Ukraine to allow it to defend itself”.

The four leaders also touched on the ongoing negotiations to reach an agreement with Tehran that would guarantee a freeze on Iran’s military nuclear program.