Putin, Macron Trade Blame over Ukraine Nuclear Plant Security

French President Emmanuel Macron and Russian President Vladimir Putin give a press conference after a summit on Ukraine at the Elysee Palace in Paris, December 9, 2019. (Reuters)
French President Emmanuel Macron and Russian President Vladimir Putin give a press conference after a summit on Ukraine at the Elysee Palace in Paris, December 9, 2019. (Reuters)
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Putin, Macron Trade Blame over Ukraine Nuclear Plant Security

French President Emmanuel Macron and Russian President Vladimir Putin give a press conference after a summit on Ukraine at the Elysee Palace in Paris, December 9, 2019. (Reuters)
French President Emmanuel Macron and Russian President Vladimir Putin give a press conference after a summit on Ukraine at the Elysee Palace in Paris, December 9, 2019. (Reuters)

The presidents of Russia and France held talks on Sunday regarding safety at the Zaporizhzhia nuclear plant in Ukraine, with Vladimir Putin blaming Ukrainian forces while Emmanuel Macron pointed the finger at Russian troops.

Conditions at Europe's biggest nuclear power plant continue to cause global concern. Russia and Ukraine accuse each other of shelling around the Zaporizhzhia plant and thereby risking a catastrophic release of radiation.

Separate readouts from Russia's Kremlin and the French leader's Elysee Palace highlighted the difficulties in trying to find an accord to ensure safety at the site.

"The Russian side drew attention to regular Ukrainian attacks on the plant's facilities, including radioactive waste storage, which is fraught with catastrophic consequences," said a statement published on the Kremlin's website.

It called for a "non-politicized interaction" on the matter with the participation of the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA).

In its statement, the French presidency said the occupation by Russian troops of the plant was what was putting it at risk.

"He (Macron) asked that Russian forces withdraw their heavy and light weapons from it (Zaporizhzhia) and that the IAEA's recommendations be followed to ensure safety at the site," the Elysee said.

The IAEA has called for a security zone to be established around the site.

On Sunday, the agency said a backup power line to the plant had been restored, providing it with the external electricity it needs to cool its reactors and defend against the risk of a meltdown. State agency Energoatom had earlier said it halted operations at the plant as a safety step.

Macron would remain in contact with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskiy "as well as the director general of the IAEA, and will speak again in the coming days with President Putin so that an accord to guarantee security at the power plant can be found," the Elysee said.



Russia: Hypersonic Missile Strike on Ukraine Was a Warning to 'Reckless' West

Russian President Vladimir Putin makes a televised address, dedicated to a military conflict in Ukraine and in particular to Russia's launch of a hypersonic intermediate-range ballistic missile attack on a military facility in response to recent Ukrainian long-range strikes with Western weapons, in Moscow, Russia November 21, 2024. Sputnik/Vyacheslav Prokofyev/Pool via REUTERS
Russian President Vladimir Putin makes a televised address, dedicated to a military conflict in Ukraine and in particular to Russia's launch of a hypersonic intermediate-range ballistic missile attack on a military facility in response to recent Ukrainian long-range strikes with Western weapons, in Moscow, Russia November 21, 2024. Sputnik/Vyacheslav Prokofyev/Pool via REUTERS
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Russia: Hypersonic Missile Strike on Ukraine Was a Warning to 'Reckless' West

Russian President Vladimir Putin makes a televised address, dedicated to a military conflict in Ukraine and in particular to Russia's launch of a hypersonic intermediate-range ballistic missile attack on a military facility in response to recent Ukrainian long-range strikes with Western weapons, in Moscow, Russia November 21, 2024. Sputnik/Vyacheslav Prokofyev/Pool via REUTERS
Russian President Vladimir Putin makes a televised address, dedicated to a military conflict in Ukraine and in particular to Russia's launch of a hypersonic intermediate-range ballistic missile attack on a military facility in response to recent Ukrainian long-range strikes with Western weapons, in Moscow, Russia November 21, 2024. Sputnik/Vyacheslav Prokofyev/Pool via REUTERS

The Kremlin said on Friday that a strike on Ukraine using a newly developed hypersonic ballistic missile was designed as a message to the West that Moscow will respond to their "reckless" decisions and actions in support of Ukraine.
Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov was speaking a day after President Vladimir Putin said Moscow had fired the new missile - the Oreshnik or Hazel Tree - at a Ukrainian military facility.
"The main message is that the reckless decisions and actions of Western countries that produce missiles, supply them to Ukraine and subsequently participate in strikes on Russian territory cannot remain without a reaction from the Russian side," Peskov told reporters.
"The Russian side has clearly demonstrated its capabilities, and the contours of further retaliatory actions in the event that our concerns are not taken into account have been quite clearly outlined,” Reuters quoted him as saying.
Peskov said Russia had not been obliged to warn the United States about the strike, but had informed the US 30 minutes before the launch anyway.
President Vladimir Putin remained open to dialogue, Peskov said, but he said the outgoing administration of US President Joe Biden "prefers to continue down the path of escalation".
Putin said on Thursday that Russia had fired the new missile after Ukraine, with approval from the Biden administration, struck Russia with six US-made ATACMS missiles on Tuesday and with British Storm Shadow cruise missiles and US-made HIMARS on Thursday.
He said this meant that the Ukraine war had now "acquired elements of a global character".
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskiy has said Russia's use of the new missile amounted to "a clear and severe escalation" in the war and called for strong worldwide condemnation.