G7 foreign ministers urge Russia to hand Zaporizhzhia nuclear plant back to Ukraine

[August 10, 2022]  BERLIN (Reuters) - The foreign ministers of the Group of Seven (G7) nations on Wednesday called on Russia to immediately hand back full control of the Zaporizhzhia nuclear power plant to Ukraine.  

A serviceman with a Russian flag on his uniform stands guard near the Zaporizhzhia Nuclear Power Plant in the course of Ukraine-Russia conflict outside the Russian-controlled city of Enerhodar in the Zaporizhzhia region, Ukraine August 4, 2022. REUTERS/Alexander Ermochenko

"The Russian Federation must immediately withdraw its troops from within Ukraine's internationally recognized borders and respect Ukraine's territory and sovereignty," the foreign ministers said in a statement released in Germany.

"In that context, we demand that Russia immediately hand back full control to its rightful sovereign owner, Ukraine, of the Zaporizhzhia nuclear power plant as well as of all nuclear facilities within Ukraine's internationally recognized borders to ensure their safe and secure operations."

(Reporting by Kirsti Knolle)

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