KIEV, Dec. 12 – The exclusion zone near the Chernobyl nuclear power plant should be as open and accessible to the public as possible, Emergencies Minister Viktor Baloha said.

"I must admit that the established mechanism of travel to the Chernobyl zone is not quite what I had imagined. At the same time, we can say that it is tightly closed. The zone will remain accessible to scientists, experts, journalists, and international control and monitoring groups. The rules of visits have become more rigorous," he said in an exclusive interview with Interfax-Ukraine, while commenting on the order recently approved by the Emergencies Ministry regarding the mechanism of travel to the exclusion zone.