Emmanuel Macron calls for emergency UNSC meet on nuclear safety in Ukraine

In a statement issued by the Elysee Palace on Friday, French President Emmanuel Macron stated that he is “extremely concerned” about the “risks to nuclear safety, security and the implementation of international safeguards that result from the Russian invasion of Ukraine.”

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Macron went on to say that France, along with its foreign partners, has requested an emergency meeting of the United Nations Security Council on the topic.

“The President of the Republic strongly condemns any attack on the integrity of Ukrainian civilian nuclear facilities caused by Russian forces in the course of their military aggression against Ukraine. It is imperative to guarantee their security and safety,” the Elysee statement read.

Macron called on Russia to “immediately cease its illegal and dangerous military actions in order to allow full control by the Ukrainian authorities over all nuclear facilities within the internationally recognized borders of Ukraine.”

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“Russia must also allow free, regular and unhindered access of personnel to the facilities to ensure their continued safe operation of the facilities,” the Elysee statement added.

Macron also spoke via phone with the Director General of the International Atomic Energy Agency, according to the French Presidency (IAEA). Macron “praised and supported” the agency’s “efforts in favor of the safety and security of nuclear facilities in Ukraine, in close contact with the Ukrainian authorities.”

According to the statement, France will propose “with its main partners, on the basis of IAEA technical criteria, concrete measures to ensure the safety and security of Ukraine’s five main nuclear sites,” in the coming hours.

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“Russia and Ukraine must reach an agreement on this basis and together ensure the implementation of the fundamental principles for the preservation of nuclear safety and security of nuclear facilities in the current context,” the Elysee statement concluded.

Earlier on Friday, Following the incident at the Zaporizhzhia nuclear reactor in Ukraine, France formed the ASN nuclear watchdog’s crisis centre, utilising the country’s nuclear radiation expertise to monitor developments amid fierce fighting near the plant.