IAEA (the UN’s nuclear watchdog), signed two contracts following Russia’s occupation of Crimea. This could be seen as a legitimation of the occupation and a contradiction to UN resolutions on Ukraine territorial integrity.
According to a Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty investigation, the International Atomic Energy Agency, the UN’s nuclear watchdog has funded Russian state scientific research on the Crimean peninsula since Moscow‘s annexation in 2014.
The international community has condemned Russia’s occupation and annexation of Crimea in 2014. Multiple UNGA resolutions have confirmed Crimea’s status as part of Ukraine, and rejected any attempt to change Ukraine’s borders through force.
RFE/RL obtained internal agency records that show the IAEA signed two agreements with Russian research institutes to conduct fieldwork in Crimea. These contracts were signed from 2016 to 2019, with one contract being extended in summer 2019.
RFE/RL critics say that this funding amounts to legitimizing Russian aggression towards Ukraine. In a resolution adopted by the General Assembly after the Russian takeover of Crimea in 2014, the UN rejected Moscow’s claim on Crimea. Rafael Grossi, the IAEA’s chief, has said that the agency is committed the UN Charter principle that “national boundaries are not to change by force.”
One of the contracts signed in September 2016 by the Joint Institute for Nuclear Research with JINR focused on the study of pollution trends “in Russian coastal areas of Black Sea” using analytical and nuclear techniques. The project proposal stated that fieldwork would be conducted in Sevastopol, which is a city located in occupied Crimea.
A second contract was signed with the Federal Center for Animal Health in Russia for a project to study Avian Flu viruses in wild migratory birds. In a final report submitted in September 2023, it was stated that feather samples were collected from birds in the “Republic of Crimea.”
Read More @ euromaidanpress.com