“We live by the principle of not changing our goals, but adapting ourselves, implementing different scenarios to achieve the objectives assigned to the state corporation, set by the president, the government and based on our economic principles,” the company’s General Director, Alexei Likhachev, told Sputnik.
Likhachev stressed that Washington’s sanctions policy “is a decision directed at individuals,” so “it should not have consequences for direct cooperation in the field of peaceful nuclear energy.”
The General Director said he did not dare to judge how the decision taken by the US authorities would affect the interaction between Rosatom and the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) in their security actions at the Zaporozhye nuclear power plant, which has been the target of attacks by the Ukrainian army.
“For now, negotiations with the IAEA are proceeding normally. We have a new rotation planned for the first half of February. “As is known, the international organization’s mission, consisting of four to two people, has been present at the Zaporozhye nuclear power plant since September 2022,” Likhachev said.
The head of Rosatom added that interagency consultations are being held to ensure the stability of the nuclear power plant, in which not only the corporation itself but also the Ministries of Foreign Affairs and Defense and the National Guard of the Russian Federation are involved.
On January 10th, the United States imposed sanctions against Rosatom executives, in particular, Likhachev and his deputies. The company called the measure “unfounded and illegal” and recalled that it has been under pressure from sanctions for almost three years now, but it has adapted to the situation and is prepared for any developments.
jrr/llp/oda/odf