The Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Lithuania, responding to the information that Belarus is preparing to launch the second unit of the nuclear power plant – is carrying out the physical start-up of the reactor and plans to connect it to the power grid, handed over a note of protest to the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Belarus, strictly demanding an immediate halt to the Belarusian NPP project until all international issues are resolved. nuclear safety issues identified during missions and review processes.
“As Belarus prepares to launch the second flawed nuclear power plant unit, hiding incidents and defects from the public, and the Russian president’s threats to deploy nuclear weapons in Belarus show the dictatorial regimes’ irresponsible behavior with nuclear energy and pose a nuclear threat to the entire region,” emphasized Foreign Minister Gabrielius Landsbergis .
There are still many unresolved safety issues in the Belarusian NPP project, such as the impact on the Lithuanian environment and population, ensuring a safety culture, and implementing international recommendations.
The assessment of national security threats presented by the Department of State Security and the Second Department of Operational Services under the Ministry of National Defense on March 9 of this year notes that in 2022, Belarus concealed the incidents and reactor system defects in the first and second units of the Belarusian nuclear power plant, which caused the nuclear reactor of the first unit to fail. more than half a year, and the start-up dates for the second unit keep getting postponed. It is very likely that the technical defects of the Belarusian NPP will be fixed after the commissioning of the second unit. Neighboring countries are not provided with information about the actual state of the Belarusian NPP, which justifiably strengthens the concerns of the institutions and increases the public’s fears.
“Belarus NPP is a project of the Russian state company Rosatom, which is accompanied by repeated incidents, unusual events, shutdowns, equipment failures and an atmosphere of opacity. Therefore, Lithuania will continue to raise the issue of the application of sanctions to the Russian nuclear energy sector and the state monopoly Rosatom, – stated Minister G. Landsbergis.
Belarus’ decision to build a nuclear power plant at the Astravos site near the Lithuanian border, just 40 km from the Lithuanian capital Vilnius, not only violates international nuclear and radiation safety and environmental requirements, but is also incompatible with the principles of openness and transparency.
According to Minister G. Landsbergis, as long as the Belarusian NPP will operate at the Astrav site, Lithuania will use all possible measures to protect the safety and well-being of its residents.
Department of Communication and Cultural Diplomacy of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs
