The EU wants to restrict visas for Russian citizens. Russia reserves the right to react, said its spokeswoman Maria Zakharova. At the same time, she utters an indirect threat.
The Russian Foreign Ministry has sharply criticized the suspension of the visa agreement announced by the EU and announced possible countermeasures. “We do not intend to conform to the European Union’s nonsensical policy of ‘breaking bridges’ between people, but at the same time we reserve the right to take countermeasures to protect the interests of our citizens and our national interests,” said Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Maria Zakharova in one letters published on the ministry’s website on Thursday.
The day before, Zakharova also commented on the situation in Donbass – and also touched on the visa issue: “I see that the EU is now busy with a more important decision – whether visas should be issued to Russians or not. But Radiation does not have a passport. No visa is required to cross the border. If something happens in Zaporizhia, it is not about visas, passports or borders. For some reason, the European Union shows little concern about the matter. The liberal European regimes have many self-destructive and made suicidal decisions.”PAID NPP Ukraine 12.13
Zaporizhia nuclear power plant repeatedly attacked
The Foreign Office spokeswoman refers to the Zaporizhia nuclear power plant. The nuclear power plant is located in southern Ukraine on the Dnipro River and is therefore on the front line. There have been repeated attacks there in recent weeks, for which Kyiv and Moscow blamed each other. The shelling fueled fears that Zaporizhia could experience a nuclear disaster similar to that in 1986 in Chernobyl, which was then part of the Soviet Union.
On Wednesday, EU foreign policy chief Josep Borrell announced that the European Union would completely suspend the 2006 agreement with Russia to facilitate the issuing of visas. The move is another sanction in response to Russia’s war of aggression against Ukraine, which has been going on for more than half a year.
Zakharova spoke of a step “that documents the bloc’s growing hostility towards Russia”. On Thursday, Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov spoke to students at the MGIMO diplomatic academy in Moscow, speaking out against reacting in the same way and stopping the issuing of visas to Europeans. Russia should “not answer stupidity with stupidity,” he said. Instead, Moscow will react “selectively,” he promised. A final decision on what the answer will be has not yet been made. FS Ukraine Conflict Charts 14.27
IAEA inspectors in Zaporizhia
IAEA experts have been at the Zaporizhia nuclear power plant since Thursday to assess damage – despite the dangerous situation, they were shown in pictures without protective vests and helmets. One wants to establish a permanent mission, said IAEA boss Grossi. He spoke of a “long-awaited visit”.
Russia had shown itself open to a permanent IAEA mission at the power plant. Kyiv, on the other hand, insists on the complete withdrawal of Russian troops and a demilitarization of the power plant area, which Moscow rejects. The IAEA mission should represent the first step. Grossi said on Wednesday that the inspection should initially take several days. A representative of the Russian occupiers said on Russian state television that the inspectors should stay at least until next Saturday.
On Ukrainian television, Energy Minister Herman Halushchenko did not rule out that two of the IAEA experts could stay longer. “But for us it is more important in this context that the power plant comes back under the control of Ukraine,” he stressed. Selenskyj also once again called for the withdrawal of Russian troops during the night. This is the only way the nuclear power plant can work safely, he said.
Both Russian and Ukrainian officials praised the nuclear experts for their determination to visit the power plant despite the war. According to Ukrainian sources, there was another shelling in the vicinity of the visit. Internationally, there is great concern that a nuclear catastrophe could occur.
Source: Stern
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