JAKARTA - UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres with Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan and Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky, met in Lviv, Ukraine to discuss ways to end the conflict with Russia, and secure Europe's largest nuclear power plant, which is under attack on the front lines. , Thursday.
Speaking to reporters after talks in Ukraine, Guterres said he was deeply concerned about the situation at the Zaporizhzhia nuclear plant, calling for military equipment and personnel to be withdrawn.
After talks in the western Ukrainian city of Lviv, President Erdogan said he, Guterres and Zelensky discussed building a positive atmosphere recently, to revive peace negotiations with Russia that took place in Istanbul in March.
In a deal brokered by the United Nations and Turkey, the two sides recently reached an agreement for Russia to lift the blockade on Ukrainian grain shipments and exports resumed.
"Personally, I maintain the belief that war will eventually end at the negotiating table. Mr Zelensky and Mr Guterres share the same opinion on this," President Erdogan said.
Meanwhile, Guterres reiterated calls for demilitarization around nuclear plants.
"The facility should not be used as part of any military operation. Instead, an agreement is urgently needed to rebuild Zaporizhzhia's purely civilian infrastructure and to ensure the security of the area," Guterres said.
President Zelensky said, after meeting Guterres on Thursday, they had agreed on the parameters of a possible International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) mission to the plant.
"Russia must immediately and unconditionally withdraw its troops from the territory of the Zaporizhzhia nuclear power plant, and stop provocations and shelling," he stressed.
Earlier, Russia, which seized Zaporizhzhia immediately after its February 24 invasion of Ukraine, said it could close the facility.
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Moscow has also rejected international calls for a demilitarized zone around the plant, calling it "unacceptable".
Ukraine itself accuses Russia of using the plant as a shield for its troops to launch attacks across the dam into Ukrainian-controlled cities, which Moscow denies.
Reuters could not independently confirm the military situation in the area or responsibility for the shooting.
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