Erdogan proposes Turkey’s mediation in the Zaporizhia nuclear plant

Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan has again offered to be a facilitator between Russia and Ukraine, this time at the Zaporizhia nuclear plant.

Located in Ukrainian territory and invaded by Russia since the start of the war six months ago, the plant has been the constant scene of tension and fear of a possible nuclear accident.

Previously, in July, Erdogan, under the auspices of the UN, paved the way for the signing of the grain export agreement, which allowed the mobilization of more than 20 million tons of Ukrainian grain that had been blocked in the ports of the Black Sea, a factor that led to the growing global food crisis.

“President Erdogan indicated that Turkey can play a facilitating role in the Zaporizhia nuclear plant, just as it did in the grain deal,” officials from the Turkish Presidency reported.

Through a phone call, Putin and Erdogan agreed to discuss the issue in detail during the Shanghai Group Heads of Government Summit, the most important in Asia, which rivals the G7 and NATO and is scheduled to take place between 15 and 16 September in Uzbekistan.

Previously, in mid-August, Erdogan visited the Ukrainian city of Lviv, from where he warned of the danger of a “nuclear disaster”. “We are worried. We don’t want another Chernobyl,” the Turkish leader said on his visit together with UN Secretary-General António Guterres.

Turkey, in search of solutions between Ukraine and Russia

In recent months, the Erdogan government has played its role as an intermediary between Russia and Ukraine. NATO member Turkey has publicly backed Ukraine, despite having a close and important trade tie with Russia.

Erdogan has shown his intention to use diplomacy to end the conflict. “As we continue our efforts to find a solution, we stand by our friends from Ukraine,” the president said amid his visit to Lviv.

During this Saturday’s conversation between Putin and Erdogan, they also mentioned their intention to continue the construction of the Akkuyu nuclear power plant, a bilateral project that would result in the first power production plant of its kind in Turkey.

Uncertainty over Russian gas continues

Parallel to Erdogan’s offer, the European Commissioner for the Economy, Paolo Gentiloni, assured from Italy that the EU “is prepared” for the interruption of Russian gas supply, after learning about the new cut of the Nord Stream 1 gas pipeline last Friday.

“We expect Russia to respect the contracts it has, but even if the use of energy as a weapon continues or increases, the EU is ready to react,” he said.

The commissioner praised the work of the European Commission in its fight against the energy emergency and those who focus their plans “to make storage levels mandatory, which already exceed 80% in Europe, and with the recommendation to reduce the use of energy by 15%”.

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He also highlighted the decision announced this Friday by the finance ministers of the G7 (United States, France, Germany, Canada, United Kingdom, Italy and Japan) in which they determined to impose a limit on the price of Russian oil and its derivatives, in order to to limit Putin’s main source of funding for the war.

“We do not participate in the war, we do not participate in the military escalation, but we support Ukraine and we work in the economic field: however, now we must do it more effectively because the prices of gas and oil in Russia are financing the war” , asserted the European official.

Zaporizhia reports failures once again

The nuclear power plant, located in the southwest of Ukraine, once again lost its main electrical connection with the outside world and was forced to disconnect one of the two reactors that were still in operation, as announced by the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA).

Two inspectors from the UN nuclear energy agency have stayed permanently at the plant since Thursday’s visit by Rafael Grossi, director general of the IAEA. His permanence in the plant aims to report on the partial events within it.

Inspectors said the plant continues to supply power through a reserve. It is also known that reactor number 5 was disconnected again, after having resumed operation the day after Grossi’s visit.

Despite the outages, the other reactor that is still active is capable of generating enough energy to supply the plant and maintain the consumption of homes and businesses.

Grossi is expected to issue a report next week on the security situation at Europe’s largest nuclear power plant. “This is crucial information to assess the general situation of the plant,” said the director.

With EFE and Reuters