Belarus slams Lithuania's protest note as failed attempt to discredit its nuclear plant project

The Lithuanian side has repeatedly taken steps to frustrate the plans to build the Belarusian nuclear power plant. “They use all kinds of instruments to put pressure, from loud statements of high officials and politicians about the threat of the Belarusian nuclear power plant to Europe to calls to boycott its construction in international organizations. However, they have not cited a single reasonable argument to support the claims that the plant is unsafe. They put out unsubstantiated statements with the main goal - to form a negative attitude towards the Belarusian nuclear power plant project,” Olga Kozlovich noted.

Belarus has repeatedly updated Lithuania on the progress in the NPP construction, invited them to visit the site of the nuclear power plant. “Lithuania has never sent any requests to allow its specialists to assess the NPP safety on the spot. There was no constructive dialogue due to the lack of feedback. Lithuania has chosen the tactics of churning out unfounded claims and accusations. This once again confirms that all Lithuania's actions are politically motivated,” Olga Kozlovich said.

The representative of the ministry dismissed Lithuania's claims about the hasty launch of the Belarusian nuclear power plant. Pre-launch operations are conducted in strict accordance with the schedule of the phased programs under the strict supervision of Gosatomnadzor and other supervisory bodies.

The project to build the Belarusian nuclear power plant meets all safety requirements. This has been repeatedly confirmed by international expert missions, including the IAEA, the WANO. “They have revealed no shortcomings that could be an obstacle to the safe launch of the first power unit of the plant. Belarus has also built a coherent system of cooperation with the European Commission and the European Nuclear Safety Regulators Group. Our country has voluntarily performed stress tests, which are an additional tool for ensuring nuclear and radiation safety,” Olga Kozlovich noted. Following them the country has launched a national action plan which has embraced both the recommendations of the national examinations and the recommendations of the experts of the European partnership review. The initial measures, which provide for additional safety systems and equipment, have already been implemented. Other activities, mainly research and expert activities, will be implemented in stages, in accordance with the national plan.