Estonian minister attending IAEA conference on safety of Ukraine's nuclear facilities

TALLINN – On Monday and Tuesday, Estonia's Minister of the Environment Madis Kallas is taking part in a session of the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) General Conference in Vienna, Austria, where the central topic is ensuring the security of Ukraine's nuclear power installations, which has come under threat due to the Russian military invasion.

The minister stressed to the 3,000 participants in the conference the Estonian public's concern about Ukraine's nuclear facilities, spokespeople for the Ministry of the Environment in Tallinn said.

"They are still at the greatest risk. Russia's occupation of Europe's largest nuclear power plant must end immediately," Kallas said.

The minister acknowledged the role of the IAEA in facilitating the peaceful use of nuclear materials and technology. He also highlighted the benefits that Estonian medicine, industry and education have gained from nuclear technology thanks to the support provided by the IAEA.

On Monday afternoon, Kallas signed a new technical cooperation framework agreement between Estonia and the IAEA, which will run until 2027. The cooperation focuses on ensuring the long-term management of radioactive waste in Estonia by building a nuclear waste repository by 2040, as well as on nuclear medicine and cancer treatment. In addition, Estonia needs the agency's help to train Estonian specialists in the safe use of nuclear energy.

In the evening, Madis Kallas will meet with the director-general of the IAEA, Rafael Mariano Gross, with whom issues related to ensuring the safety of the Zaporizhzhia nuclear power plant will be discussed, along with cooperation between Estonia and the IAEA.