New York [US], August 4 (ANI/Sputnik): Russia was willing to assist the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) with a potential visit to the Zaporizhzhia nuclear power plant but the United Nations Secretariat refused to approve such a visit, Russian Foreign Ministry Nonproliferation and Arms Control Department Deputy Director Igor Vishnevetsky said.

"We were prepared to assist the IAEA in organizing an international mission headed by the Director General to assess the situation of this largest nuclear power plant on the territory of Europe," Vishnevetsky said on Wednesday. "We came to an agreement regarding the time-line of the visits, the very complex logistics as well as security arrangements. However, just days before the proposed arrival of the IAEA delegation, the Secretariat of the United Nations refused to approve this visit." (ANI/Sputnik)