The Belarusian opposition portal “Nasha niva” reminds that the ingenious project of the Belarusian nuclear power plant near the Lithuanian border in Astrava was planned to supply electricity to the Baltic countries. However, Belarus’ relations with the Baltic countries quickly cooled significantly and reached the level of the Cold War. Lithuania constantly raises security issues for the Belarusian nuclear power plant.
On Friday, A.Lukashenka was asked about the export of electricity from the Belarusian NPP. He replied that everything has the ability to change and that eventually the principle of buying where it is cheaper and the quality is normal will work.
However, at the same time, A.Lukašenka did not refrain from expressing his anger at Lithuania, which constantly raises questions related to compliance with safety standards during the construction of a nuclear power plant. A.Lukašenka particularly did not like the latest comments from the Lithuanian side regarding the launch of the second unit.
Lithuania’s position
On Friday, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Lithuania (MFA) called on Minsk to stop the operation of the first and second energy units of the Belarusian nuclear power plant (NPP) and to solve security issues.
The Ministry of Foreign Affairs announced on Friday that it had handed over a note to the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Belarus, calling for “immediate resolution of environmental, nuclear and radiation safety issues at the Belarusian NPP, in compliance with international requirements and standards.”
This is how the ministry reacts after the Belarusian media reported at the end of October that the country’s authorities allowed the start of industrial (commercial) use of the second reactor of the power plant.
“Belarus continues to ignore the requests of the international community to address all safety issues first in this unsafe nuclear project,” the ministry said.
According to her, the unsafe nuclear power plant in Astrava poses a great threat to the whole of Europe, therefore, Lithuania “insists on stopping the operation of the first and second energy units of the Belarusian NPP until all safety issues are resolved.”
According to the State Atomic Energy Safety Inspectorate (VATESI), in the event of an accident, radiation would affect a third of the Lithuanian population, and it is also recalled that Astravos NPP has not yet implemented all the stress test recommendations, as well as unresolved safety issues related to the equipment’s resistance to seismic events and possible large commercial by the impact of a plane crash.
The institution reiterates that until all nuclear safety issues are resolved, the use of both reactors of the power plant must be stopped.
The power plant, which will have two reactors of the Russian VVER project with a power of almost 1.2 gigawatts each, is one of the biggest critics of Lithuania and international experts claim that the construction was carried out in gross violation of technological and environmental standards.
Lukos Balandios / 15min photo/Exercises for preparing for a nuclear accident at the Astravos nuclear power plant (NPP)
A. Lukashenko’s answer
A.Lukashenka was infuriated by these remarks.
“The note was sent by madmen. Lithuanian people have nothing to do with these madmen. Trust me, I know what’s going on there. The top of the government lives there for themselves. I even know the grandfathers and fathers of those who lead Lithuania today,” A.Lukašenka stressed.
He recalled that at one time he invited specialists from the closed Ignalina NPP in Lithuania to come to Belarus.
“But they made a different policy at the behest of certain people from across the ocean. This is not the first note. Let them send them. We have enough space in our toilets. So let him send it,” said A.Lukašenka.
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2024-10-07 05:46:58
