United Nations (United States) - (AFP) Several countries, including France, on Wednesday condemned Russia's "militarization" of the Zaporizhia nuclear plant in Ukraine , which threatens nuclear security.

The foreign ministers of Germany, Canada, France, Italy, Britain and Ukraine, and representatives of South Korea, the United States and Switzerland stressed in a joint statement after a meeting in New York that "Russia's seizure and militarization of the Zaporizhia nuclear plant are the main cause of the current threats in terms of nuclear security and safety."

"We recall that the increased risk of a nuclear accident will remain dangerously high as long as Russia is in the Zaporizhia site," the statement added.

The Director General of the International Atomic Energy Agency, Rafael Grossi, warned Wednesday that the situation at the Zaporizhya plant, the largest in Europe, was "deteriorating further", while the Ukrainians accused Russia of bombing it again.

"The situation is still deteriorating, and we cannot afford to waste time until something catastrophic happens," Grossi said after a meeting on this subject held at the headquarters of the French mission to the United Nations and opened by President Emmanuel Macron.

He stated that he discussed the matter with Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov, whom he met on Wednesday morning on the sidelines of the United Nations General Assembly.

"As long as the bombing continues, the risks are great," he added.

Grossi also confirmed during a press conference that he had spoken with Ukrainian Foreign Minister Dmytro Kuleba, expressing his hope that "the possibility of going to Kiev soon and perhaps to Russia later."

He pointed out that no agreement had been reached to establish a protection zone around the station, explaining that "the real talks about the standards" of this zone are still in their "beginnings".

On Wednesday, the Ukrainian authorities accused Russia of bombing the site of the largest power station in Europe again, stressing that the radiation in this facility did not exceed the normal rate.

"Even in the worst circumstances, diplomacy should never stop (...) It is our responsibility to do this with practical and realistic proposals, and this is what we are trying to do," Grossi said.
For her part, French Foreign Minister Catherine Colonna declared that the goal is "the demilitarization of the station within the framework of Ukraine's sovereignty."

On Wednesday, the state operator of Ukrainian nuclear power plants, Energuatom, called on the IAEA to "take firmer action" against Moscow, announcing new bombings.

The Zaporizhia station, occupied by Russian forces since the first weeks of their February 24 invasion of Ukraine, has been repeatedly bombed in recent months.

Kiev and Moscow share responsibility and accusations of nuclear blackmail.