India's Permanent Representative to UN T S Tirumurti said India is following the developments regarding the safety and security of Ukraine's nuclear power reactors and facilities.
New Delhi: Alarmed by the Russian siege of the nuclear plant at Ukraine's Zaporizhzhia, India has red-flagged any adventurism on this score and said it "attaches the highest importance to ensuring safety and security of nuclear facilities".
Speaking at an emergency meeting of the United Nations Security Council (UNSC) on the danger from attacks on the nuclear facilities, India's Permanent Representative T S Tirumurti said: "India attaches the highest importance to ensuring safety and security of nuclear facilities as any accident involving the nuclear facilities may have severe consequences for public health and the environment."
"We continue to carefully follow the developments regarding the safety and security of Ukraine's nuclear power reactors and facilities," he said.
Earlier, in a dramatic video call to the Council while a plane, International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) Director-General Rafael Mariano Grossi gave an assurance that there had been no leak from the Zaporizhzhia nuclear power plant where a building in the complex went up in flames, but the six reactors there were not damaged.
Grossi, who was on his way to Iran for negotiations on resuming its participation in the international agreement on preventing it from acquiring nuclear weapons, said that he was ready to go to Ukraine to ensure the atomic facilities' safety.
Tirumurti said: "We have also noted the latest information available regarding the nuclear power plants and facilities in Ukraine, including today's updates provided by the DG (director-general of) IAEA on the current situation."
"India accords the highest priority to the discharge by the IAEA of its safeguards and monitoring activities, in accordance with its statute in an effective, non-discriminatory and efficient manner," he said.
United Arab Emirates Permanent Representative Lana Zaki Nusseibeh, who presided over the session, recalled the nuclear disasters at Fukushima and Chernobyl and warned that an attack on a nuclear facility could lead to catastrophic and unimaginable consequences.
The 15-nation UNSC held an emergency session, called by Albania, France, Ireland, Norway, the United Kingdom and the United States on Friday, following Russia's attack on the Zaporizhzhya Nuclear Plant in southeastern Ukraine.
