Putin says Russia could “cooperate” on Zaporizhzhia NPP with U.S. and Ukraine

He made the statement during a meeting with Slovak Prime Minister Robert Fico on the sidelines of the SCO summit in China, according to the Russian propaganda outlet RIA Novosti.

“The same, by the way, applies to the Ukrainian side at the Zaporizhzhia plant — if conditions are favorable, we discussed this with our American colleagues, and we could even work there together in a trio,” Putin stated.

The Zaporizhzhia NPP, Europe’s largest nuclear facility, has been under Russian occupation since March 4, 2022. Ukraine and international organizations have repeatedly demanded that Moscow withdraw its troops and return control of the plant to Kyiv.

• Cooperation at the Zaporizhzhia NPP was also included in the first peace plan of U.S. President Donald Trump, presented to Ukraine during a meeting in Paris on April 17. The proposal envisioned declaring the area around the plant a neutral zone, possibly under U.S. control.
• Head of Russia's Rosatom, Alexei Likhachev, has stated that Russia is ready to talk with the U.S. about their presence at the occupied Zaporizhzhia Nuclear Power Plant as part of peace negotiations.