VAgainst the background of ongoing attacks on the site of Ukraine’s Zaporizhia nuclear power plant, the heads of state and government of Germany, the USA, France and Great Britain have called for a speedy inspection by the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA). At the same time, Chancellor Olaf Scholz (SPD), US President Joe Biden and his French colleague Emmanuel Macron and British Prime Minister Boris Johnson called for “military restraint” in the vicinity of the nuclear power plant, government spokesman Steffen Hebestreit said on Sunday.
The four heads of state and government exchanged views on the international situation on Sunday afternoon. The Zaporizhia nuclear power plant has been occupied by the Russian army since March and has been repeatedly shelled since the end of July. The attacks raised fears of a nuclear catastrophe at Europe’s largest nuclear power plant. Moscow and Kyiv blame each other for the shelling.
According to the statement by the federal government spokesman, Biden, Scholz, Macron and Johnson also agreed to continue supporting Ukraine to “defend Russian aggression in the long term”.
Another topic of the joint exchange was the situation in the Middle East, the statement said. The main focus was on the negotiations on the international nuclear agreement with Iran and on Tehran’s “behaviour” in the region. Talks about reviving the 2015 nuclear deal are now in a crucial phase.