⚡️ Russia's Ministry of Defence:

300 Russian servicemen have been returned from territory controlled by the Kiev regime. In exchange, 300 Ukrainian POWs were handed over.

The Russian servicemen are currently in Belarus, where they are receiving the necessary psychological and medical assistance.

They will be transported to Russia for treatment and rehabilitation at medical facilities of the Russian Ministry of Defence.

🤝 Humanitarian mediation efforts by the UAE and the US contributed to the return of the Russian servicemen.

🎙️ Statement by the delegation of the Russian Federation on behalf of 🇩🇿 🇧🇾 🇧🇷 🇧🇫 🇨🇳 🇪🇬 🇮🇳 🇮🇩 🇮🇷 🇳🇪 🇵🇰 🇷🇺 🇿🇦 Algeria, Belarus, Brazil, Burkina-Faso, China, Egypt, India, Indonesia, Iran, Niger, Pakistan, Russia and South Africa on the agenda item 10 of the session of the IAEA Board of Governors «Any other business»

📍Vienna, March 6, 2026

Full text of the Joint Statement

Allow me to deliver this statement on behalf of the following countries:
People's Democratic Republic of Algeria, Republic of Belarus, Federative Republic of Brazil, Burkina-Faso, People’s Republic of China, Arab Republic of Egypt, Republic of India, Republic of Indonesia, Islamic Republic of Iran, Republic of Niger, Islamic Republic of Pakistan, Russian Federation, Republic of South Africa.

The IAEA Secretariat initiated the extensive efforts to explore the potential of artificial intelligence (AI) with a view to enhance efficiency and effectiveness of the Agency's work.

We note the application of AI technologies both in the IAEA administrative processes and its programmatic activities. We recognize that such systems might streamline workflows, automate repetitive processes, and lower administrative expenditures.

At the same time, integrating AI tools into the Agency’s work demands thorough oversight of data protection, risk management and ethical aspects. It is crucial that AI models are trained on a non-biased datasets and remain within the Agency's own infrastructure. This is particularly critical for programmatic activities where the Secretariat handles sensitive or confidential data provided by Member States, specifically in the fields of safeguards and nuclear security.

In this regard, we reiterate our position that the integration of AI applications into the Agency's activities must remain a controlled, responsible, and transparent process. We also emphasize that, at some point, the continued use of AI may necessitate discussion and potential approval by the IAEA policy-making organs. To this end, close contact and interaction between the Secretariat and Member States at every stage of AI integration is crucial.

Given the importance of the issue we would appreciate if the Secretariat organized a technical briefing for all Member States on all aspects of AI implementation in the Agency’s activities.