Ukraine "will not discuss" transferring ownership of its nuclear power plants to the US, including the occupied Zaporizhzhia NPP, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky said a day after his conversation with US President Donald Trump, who had hinted that Washington could take over "ownership", reported Agence France-Presse.
"We will not discuss this. Today we have 15 nuclear reactors in operation. All of this belongs to our state," Zelensky stressed at a press conference in Oslo.
Ukraine has four nuclear power plants that were built during the Soviet era, AFP recalls. Zaporizhzhia NPP is the largest nuclear power plant in Europe and was shut down after it was occupied by the Russian army in early 2022, which worries Kiev and the West. Russia and Ukraine have been exchanging accusations for three years that they struck it in exchange for drone and missile attacks.
Yesterday, the White House hinted that the United States could take "ownership" of Ukrainian plants as part of efforts to end the Russian invasion, AFP notes. "Ownership of these plants by Americans would be the best protection and the best possible support for these Ukrainian energy infrastructure facilities," said White House spokeswoman Caroline Levitt.
"These are nuclear power plants that are state-owned, this is not private property," Zelensky reminded, for his part, today. He added that he was ready to listen to anyone if Americans "want to modernize, invest" in the Zaporozhye NPP. "This is an open issue, we can talk," he stressed.
But "with President Trump, we have not raised the issue of ownership at all," he said.