Updated at 17:53,27-03-2024

Lithuania urges neighbors not to acquire energy from nuke plants in Belarus, Russia

belsat.eu, following Delfi

Lithuania’s Energy Minister tried to talk neighboring countries out of purchasing energy from nuclear power stations that are being constructed in the Belarusian town of Astravets and Russia’s Kaliningrad region.

Rokas Masiulis addressed Latvia, Estonia, Poland and Finland.

“We must send a clear message saying that energy being produced in violation of international regulation of nuclear safety, security and inter-state environmental impact assessment will not be accepted in the European Union. Therefore, we must immediately discuss this issue in detail – first at the regional and then at the EU level, and make decisions to ensure equal conditions of energy trade with these countries,” he said in a letter to the countries’ economy and energy ministers on December, 23.

Rokas Masiulis granted an interview to Belsat TV (excerpt in English here):



The Astravets nuclear power plant is being built 50 kilometers from Vilnius. Lithuania has been criticising Belarus for failing to ensure its safety.

The NPP first power-generating unit is scheduled for commissioning in 2018, the second one – in 2020. The construction of two nuclear reactors is provided in the agreement reached by Belarus and Russia, the reactors being supplied by Atomstroyexport, Russia. The project faced opposition at home and abroad on both safety and political grounds.