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The Kremlin said today that International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) chief Rafael Grossi will not meet Russian President Vladimir Putin during his visit to Moscow this week, Reuters reported.

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Russian invasion of Ukraine 9229

Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov told reporters that Grossi would meet officials from the state nuclear company Rosatom and the Foreign Ministry and that Moscow expected a "substantive dialogue."

The IAEA has repeatedly raised concerns about the safety of Ukraine's Zaporozhye nuclear power plant, which was seized by Russian forces in March shortly after the invasion began.

The plant was subjected to repeated shelling, for which both sides blame each other.

Earlier today, Russian Deputy Foreign Minister Sergey Ryabkov announced that Grossi would visit Moscow this week to discuss the creation of a safety zone around the Zaporizhzhia nuclear power plant.

The Kremlin spokesman announced that Putin and Belarusian President Alexander Lukashenko had a "substantial telephone conversation" yesterday, during which they agreed, among other things, to meet within a few months, TASS reported.

The IAEA was concerned by the recent explosions around the Zaporozhye NPP

Peskov also commented on a publication in the American newspaper "Wall Street Journal", in which it is claimed that Russia and Iran intend to start production of drones.

"We have our own development programs, I don't know what sources the newspaper relied on in its reporting," he said.

The spokesman said that the Kremlin will not comment on the case of the Chinese balloon, as it is a matter of bilateral relations between China and the United States, BTA notes.

Russian invasion of Ukraine

Dmitry Peskov

Kremlin

IAEA

International Atomic Energy Agency