President Volodymyr Zelenskyy has said that the American side is proposing joint operation of the Zaporizhzhia Nuclear Power Plant by Ukraine, the United States, and Russia, but that no agreement has been reached on this issue so far.
The head of state said this while speaking with journalists.
Commenting on point 12 of the draft framework document between Ukraine, the United States, Russia, and Europe on ending the war, which refers to the operation of the ZNPP, Zelenskyy said:
“The Zaporizhzhia Nuclear Power Plant will be operated jointly by three countries — Ukraine, the United States, and the Russian Federation. This is America’s proposal. Here it is important to understand what is happening. The ‘Russians’ believe that they will ensure the Zaporizhzhia Nuclear Power Plant is operated by them anyway. They occupied it, and they believe that apart from international law and certain IAEA mechanisms, we cannot do anything to prevent them from restarting the ZNPP.”
According to the President, the American side is proposing joint operation of the facility by Ukraine, the United States, and Russia.
“As of today, this is how it looks. The United States proposes ‘33%–33%–33%’, with the Americans acting as the chief manager of this joint enterprise. Clearly, for Ukraine this sounds very unfortunate and not entirely realistic. How can one have joint commercial activity with the ‘Russians’ after everything?” the head of state said.
He noted that Ukraine’s compromise proposal is as follows:
“The Zaporizhzhia power plant is operated by a joint enterprise comprising the United States and Ukraine. Fifty-fifty. But 50% of the electricity produced goes to Ukraine, and as for the other 50%, the United States independently determines its distribution.”
According to the President, under this scenario, 50% of the generated energy would be allocated to Ukraine, while the United States would independently decide how to distribute its share of the electricity.
Zelenskyy added that there are currently a number of problems associated with restoring the ZNPP.
“The dam needs to be restored, because without the dam, which was destroyed by the ‘Russians’, the ZNPP cannot operate normally anyway. The plant itself needs to be restored. Investments are needed for both. The territory of the plant must be demilitarized. There is the city of Enerhodar, which is currently occupied. In other words, there are many issues that need to be resolved for the plant to be able to operate. But if America can resolve this, then such an asset could operate on a 50–50 basis with America, and this is what we are discussing with them,” Zelenskyy said.
