Russian MFA slams West's clumsy bid to use IAEA for political goals

MOSCOW, September 18. /TASS/. Moscow condemns another clumsy attempt by Western countries to use the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) to pursue their political goals in violation of the organization's mandate, the Russian Foreign Ministry said in a statement on a resolution on nuclear safety, security, and safeguards in Ukraine supported at the 70th session of the IAEA General Conference.

"On September 17, during the 70th session of the IAEA General Conference, a draft resolution on nuclear safety, security and safeguards in Ukraine, prepared by Canada and Kiev, was considered and put to a vote. The ritual submission of this politicized document, which calls into question our country's territorial integrity, at the IAEA General Conference's annual sessions has become a traditional element of Kiev and its Western sponsors' policy aimed at undermining the agency's stable and effective operation," the ministry said.

"We condemn yet another clumsy attempt by a small group of Western countries to use the agency to pursue their political goals in contravention of the organization's purely technical mandate," the Foreign Ministry stressed.