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Nuclear chief Grossi meets Putin to go over Zaporizhzhia plant

International Atomic Energy Company (IAEA) chief Rafael Grossi fulfilled Russian President Vladimir Putin on Wednesday after talks with energy authorities over security at the Russianoccupied Zaporizhzhia nuclear power plant in Ukraine.

The Kremlin released initial remarks by Putin and Grossi at the conference in Sochi in southern Russia however offered no details of the closed-door meeting that followed.

Putin told Grossi he was prepared to talk about especially. delicate and important problems on the program ... and do. whatever to guarantee security anywhere we remain in one or another. involved in nuclear energy, the Kremlin stated.

Grossi met the head of state nuclear power business Rosatom. Alexei Likhachev alongside Putin.

Russian forces seized Europe's biggest nuclear reactor. in their 2022 invasion of Ukraine and have actually occupied it given that. Grossi is due to meet Putin in the southern Russian city of. Sochi later on Wednesday.

Zaporizhzhia lies close to the front lines in a part of. southern Ukraine which Moscow declares to have actually annexed. All six of. its reactors are shut down, but it requires consistent power and a. water system to keep it cool and avoid a possibly. devastating meltdown.

It was harmed by fire when it was taken control of in March 2022,. and Russian and Ukrainian soldiers continue to clash nearby,. implicating each other of shelling around the station. The IAEA has. been trying to establish a security mechanism to avoid accidents.

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Grossi held talks with state nuclear power company Rosatom. where security at Zaporizhzhia was the primary focus, the RIA news. firm said, mentioning Rosatom. He likewise had discussions with the. Russian defence and foreign ministries.

RIA reported that Grossi stated the talks were tense,. without elaborating. An IAEA spokesperson rejected Grossi had. described the talks as tense.

Zaporizhzhia has lost its connection to all its external. power lines eight times in the previous 18 months, requiring it to. count on diesel generators for important functions such as. cooling the fuel in its reactors.

While one of its main power lines is presently working,. the IAEA says the circumstance at the plant stays precarious.

Among the plant's 6 reactors, according to the IAEA,. needs to be kept in a hot shutdown mode in order to produce. steam needed for nuclear safety, consisting of the processing of. liquid radioactive waste in tank.

Ukraine stated last year it feared the plant might face a. shortage of water needed to keep it cool, after a huge dam was. exploded down river, lowering the level of the adjacent. tank.

Grossi examined wells last month to identify if there was. enough water for cooling, and welcomed a reduction in. shelling around the site. Russian news agency TASS reported that. Grossi had concluded the supply of water was sufficient.

(source: Reuters)