The G7 countries, which include some of the main world powers, demanded on Wednesday that Russian forces “immediately” withdraw from the nuclear power plant in Zaporizhia, the largest in Europe, because they consider their control of this plant ” puts the region at risk.

The Foreign Ministers of the United States, United Kingdom, Canada, France, Germany, Italy and Japan, as well as the High Representative for EU Foreign Policy, Josep Borrell, claim that both the plant and other areas occupied by Russian forces must be returned to its “rightful” owner, Ukraine.

In the case of the installations in Zaporizhia, the scene of bombardments, the powers believe that the risk of an atomic accident which would endanger not only the Ukrainian population, but also that of neighboring countries, has increased “significantly”, even the entire international community. .

Ministers also took the opportunity to express their support for the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA), which is also concerned about the situation of Ukrainian power plants. In this sense, they requested the dispatch of an expert mission to avert any risk arising from the recent escalation of tensions.

“IAEA personnel must be able to access all nuclear facilities in Ukraine safely and without hindrance and to contact directly and without interference with Ukrainian personnel responsible for the operation of these facilities,” the signatory countries affirmed.