Zelenskyy denies discussing issue of ownership of Ukrainian NPPs
President of Ukraine Volodymyr Zelenskyy denied discussing with U.S. President Donald Trump the issue of ownership of Ukrainian nuclear power plants.
"They [the United States officials] want to take it [Zaporizhia NPP] from the Russians and want to invest, modernize. This is a different issue. This is an open issue. We can talk about it. But we definitely did not discuss the issue of ownership with President Trump," he said during a press conference in Oslo during his visit to Norway on Thursday.
Zelenskyy said all nuclear power plants belong to the people of Ukraine, and this is not private property.
"Yes, we have thermal generation, there is green energy, there is a private partner there, this is absolutely clear and correct. But all nuclear energy belongs to the state of Ukraine. And the temporarily occupied Zaporizhia region with the city of Enerhodar, where this occupied station is located, also belongs to the Ukrainian state. And everyone recognizes this. By the way, the IAEA recognizes it, various international institutions recognize it," the head of state said.
According to him, in a conversation with Trump, he also emphasized the illegality of resuming the operation of Zaporizhia NPP without returning it to Ukraine.
"President Trump asked me: 'What do you think about this station?' I told him that it will not work for anyone if it is not Ukrainian. This is illegal," the president said.
Zelenskyy also said he did not know whether U.S. representatives had discussed the conditions for the resumption of Zaporizhia NPP with the Russians.