According to Turkish media, Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan has told his Russian Counterpart, President Vladimir Putin that Turkey can mediate in a standoff over Ukraine’s Zaporizhzhia nuclear power station which is occupied by Moscow’s troops. According to the details, during the Tele-conversion, the two leaders agreed to talk further on this topic in Samarkand on the sidelines of the Shanghai Cooperation Organization summit in mid-September this year.
The situation around Zaporizhzhia, Europe’s largest nuclear power plant is very tense and a devastating catastrophe can happen any movement because both warring nations, Russia and Ukraine have amassed their heavily armed military troops in the area and are continuously trading accusations of shelling around the most sensitive nuclear installation. According to reports, the nuclear power plant is in the middle of armed hostilities, shelling on its territory and nearby creates unacceptable risks while any misfired shell could hit one of the reactors or disable some systems which can lead to much bigger consequences.
The situation became more complicated as the Ukrainian nuclear plant is under the control of the Russian military, which is using this plant as a cover /hub for its military activities because opposing troops could not target it freely due to the fear of nuclear contamination. Recently, a 14-member IAEA team led by the agency Chief Rafael Grossi visited Zaporizhzhia nuclear power plant amid fear of radiation and examined atomic facilities for any potential damage and malfunction. Meanwhile, the global nuclear watchdog intends to deploy its experts at the facility to monitor the situation and assess risks personally in the future. Presently, the Russian military is using a Nuclear Plant as shelter/ and ammunition storage as well as a launching pad for its operation against the Ukrainian military in the area, which in turn is unable to target its enemy due to the fear of nuclear contamination.
The situation around Zaporizhzhia nuclear power plant has become a major concern for the global community as the nuclear plant lies in the heart of a warzone while some parts of the plant had already been damaged due to shelling and heavy artillery fire in recent weeks.
There has been growing alarm over Europe’s largest nuclear plant, Zaporizhzhia, which is facing a genuine risk of nuclear radiation which could diminish human lives and other creatures in the area besides causing serious health and environmental issues for the whole world. The world leaders had expressed serious concerns over the looming tragedy while Turkey’s Erdogan took up a new expedition to save the world from an impending disaster and in an effort to strike a deal with Russia and Ukraine under the UN patron ship on the lines of recently concluded the grain deal.
Interestingly, Turkey has friendly ties with both Moscow and Kyiv. Ankara has supplied Ukraine with military drones which played an important role in Ukraine with the Russian Federation in the past, while Turkey refused to join Western sanctions against Moscow despite the fact that Anakara is an active member of the North Atlantic Military Alliance. Presently, Erdogan is on good terms with Ukrainian President Zelensky and Russian strongman Vladimir Putin and his meetings with both heads of the states are expected in the coming days. Although, there are multiple challenges in this regard, yet the world is hopeful of some promising outcomes of Erdogan’s new diplomatic voyage to Central Asia.
