Conversation about Zaporizhia
Meeting of Baerbock with Lavrov bursts
09/24/2022, 07:10 am
In the background, Russia and Germany are negotiating a meeting of their foreign ministers on the fringes of the UN General Assembly. But there was no talk between Lavrov and Baerbock about the situation in the Zaporizhia nuclear power plant. Moscow blames the other side for this.
A planned meeting between Federal Foreign Minister Annalena Baerbock and Russia’s chief diplomat Sergey Lavrov in New York has fallen through. “After they asked their questions about negotiations with Sergei Lavrov on the fringes of the UN General Assembly and received a proposal for a date from the Russian side, the EU delegations disappeared from the radar,” criticized the Russian foreign ministry spokeswoman Maria Zakharova on her Telegram channel.
The 46-year-old apparently also referred to an initiated conversation between Baerbock and Lavrov. In the run-up to the general debate in New York, there had been contacts between the local delegations. It was about the possibility of a conversation between Baerbock and her Russian counterpart on the security of the Zaporizhia nuclear power plant, according to diplomatic circles. The meeting did not take place. The Zaporizhia nuclear power plant in Ukraine has been heavily contested in recent weeks. The plant was hit several times, which increased international concern about a nuclear accident.
An observer mission from the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) was able to visit the nuclear power plant in early September. However, the majority of the experts left on the same day, only two IAEA employees remained on site. The shelling of the nuclear power plant then continued. The nuclear authority called the accident risk “significant” in its investigation report and recently called for a protection zone to be built around the power plant.
Lavrov will address the UN general debate today. He had already given a speech before the UN Security Council on Thursday, making serious allegations against Ukraine – and left the room after his speech – an approach that Baerbock and other Western representatives had publicly criticized. Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi will address the UN General Assembly on Saturday. Baerbock has already left. The top diplomatic meeting in New York began on Tuesday and will continue until Monday.