Merkel: Germany will advocate that Belarusian Nuclear Power Plant meet highest safety requirements
By Dzmitry Ulasaw, BelaPAN
2 March 2017, 00:52
Germany will advocate that the Belarusian Nuclear Power Plant should meet the highest safety requirements, German Chancellor Angela Merkel said while meeting with Lithuanian Prime Minister Saulius Skvernelis in Berlin on February 23.
“We talked about the situation in neighboring countries,” Ms. Merkel told reporters after the meeting. “Lithuania is somewhat concerned about the construction of a nuclear power plant in Belarus. It does not matter whether you live in the immediate vicinity of or far from [a nuclear power plant]. After Chernobyl we certainly know that the safety of nuclear power plants is of vital importance.”
When asked whether Germany might attempt to "block" the construction of the Belarusian Nuclear Power Plant, Ms. Merkel replied that it was necessary to ensure that all safety requirements were met.
“We can only say again and again that there are international inspectors who can examine the construction site and familiarize themselves with numbers,” she said. “Nuclear power is something out of the ordinary, so safety is of particular importance. We will once again tell Russia how important this issue is for all of us, both for Russia and the people who live there and the people who live in the European Union. Even if we have different opinions in some cases, such issues should be discussed.”
Nuclear safety is a "matter of survival for Lithuania" because an “unsafe” nuclear power plant is being built close to its border, Mr. Skvernelis said.
“This is an issue that concerns not only Lithuania but also the European Union,” he said. “We already have negative experience of the severe consequences of the operation of unsafe nuclear power plants.”
According to Mr. Skvernelis, he tried to describe the "real situation" to Ms. Merkel, warning her that Belarus` nuclear project posed a threat to not only Belarus and Lithuania but other countries as well as should be addressed "at a different level."
2 March 2017, 00:52
Angela Merkel
“We talked about the situation in neighboring countries,” Ms. Merkel told reporters after the meeting. “Lithuania is somewhat concerned about the construction of a nuclear power plant in Belarus. It does not matter whether you live in the immediate vicinity of or far from [a nuclear power plant]. After Chernobyl we certainly know that the safety of nuclear power plants is of vital importance.”
When asked whether Germany might attempt to "block" the construction of the Belarusian Nuclear Power Plant, Ms. Merkel replied that it was necessary to ensure that all safety requirements were met.
“We can only say again and again that there are international inspectors who can examine the construction site and familiarize themselves with numbers,” she said. “Nuclear power is something out of the ordinary, so safety is of particular importance. We will once again tell Russia how important this issue is for all of us, both for Russia and the people who live there and the people who live in the European Union. Even if we have different opinions in some cases, such issues should be discussed.”
Nuclear safety is a "matter of survival for Lithuania" because an “unsafe” nuclear power plant is being built close to its border, Mr. Skvernelis said.
“This is an issue that concerns not only Lithuania but also the European Union,” he said. “We already have negative experience of the severe consequences of the operation of unsafe nuclear power plants.”
According to Mr. Skvernelis, he tried to describe the "real situation" to Ms. Merkel, warning her that Belarus` nuclear project posed a threat to not only Belarus and Lithuania but other countries as well as should be addressed "at a different level."
