IAEA Board of Governors Meeting
Statement by H. E. Mr Richard Sadleir, Resident Representative of Australia to the IAEA
Special Meeting on Ukraine: Explanation of Vote
3 March 2022
We welcome today’s adoption of the resolution presented by Canada and Poland and were pleased to support it.
As I said in my statement to the Board yesterday, Australia joins the international community in condemning the Russian Federation, in the strongest terms, for its unprovoked act of aggression in invading Ukraine.
We call on Russia to cease all hostile actions and withdraw immediately from Ukraine.
We reiterate our full support for Ukraine’s independence and territorial integrity. Risks to nuclear security are rising. Russia’s nuclear posturing is unprovoked and does not support efforts towards a diplomatic solution. Russia must reduce immediately the risk of nuclear miscalculation.
This resolution provides an important marker of this Board’s commitment to ensuring the safety, security and safeguarding of nuclear facilities and materials in Ukraine. We look forward to the reporting the resolution mandates and thank the Director General and staff of the IAEA in advance for their work in this regard.