Anna J. Davis, Panorama
Russian President Vladimir Putin has seemingly reversed the Kremlin’s position toward cooperation with the United States and Ukraine at the Russian-occupied Zaporizhzhia nuclear power plant (NPP) on September 2 on the sidelines of the Shanghai Cooperation Organization (SCO) summit.
The Kremlin, until now, has been claiming that cooperation is not possible and the status of the plant is non-negotiable. Russian state nuclear corporation Rosatom, in the meantime, has been requesting cooperation with the United States since at least 2023 and has been waiting for Moscow to make the “political decision.”
While Putin’s new alignment with Rosatom may be a tactical move to strengthen Moscow’s position ahead of any potential talks or negotiations, Rosatom may have been influential in changing Putin’s mind, a possible indication of new influence on Russian nuclear foreign policy.
In a reversal of previous Kremlin rhetoric, Russian President Vladimir Putin suggested on September 2 the possibility of working together with the United States and Ukraine at the Zaporizhzhia Nuclear Power Plant (NPP) in Ukraine. While visiting the People’s Republic of China (PRC) for its Victory Day Parade on September 3 and for the Shanghai Cooperation Organization (SCO) summit on August 31–September 1, Putin said at a meeting with Slovak Prime Minister Robert Fico:
We can cooperate with American partners at the Zaporizhzhia NPP … We have also indirectly discussed these issues with them in principle. The same … applies to the Ukrainian side. And if favorable circumstances arise, we discussed this with our American colleagues, the three of us could even work at the Zaporizhzhia NPP (President of Russia, September 2).
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