After weeks of global calls for Russia to allow international inspectors into the occupied Zaporizhzhia nuclear power plant, the world welcomed news that French President Emanuel Macron and Russian President Vladimir Putin agreed to inspections and demilitarization of the plant.
But murky details and circumstances of the agreement should give observers pause. While the agreement appears to be a positive step away from a nuclear cliff, Putin may be looking to take advantage of the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) inspections to twist the narrative on Russia’s game of nuclear brinkmanship.
There are real questions as to whether the agency will be able to conduct the kind of monitoring needed for stability in this situation, in part because it draws its inspectors from the countries involved in its activities — its Russia inspection team is awash in former officials from the Russian state nuclear
Captured by Russian forces early in the invasion of Ukraine, the Zaporizhzhia nuclear plant — Europe’s largest nuclear power facility — has been used by Russia as a nuclear shield to stockpile weapons and fire on Ukrainian forces. At the same time, Russia has worked to integrate the plant into the Russian energy grid, threatening Ukraine’s power supply as the country braces for a brutal winter.
If any agreement over the Zaporizhzhia nuclear power plant is going to have an impact, the IAEA’s inspection team should not include any observers who have previously worked for Rosatom or Ukraine’s Energoatom. The inspections must be carried out by experienced officials from third countries to ensure a fairer assessment of the nuclear plant, and officials should have full access to the plant, not just what Russia wants them to see.