Lithuania is unlikely to succeed in setting back Belarusian NPP project

The position of the Lithuanian authorities on the Belarusian nuclear power plant project is not new for those who have been following the situation, the leading expert at the Finam Management Company, Dmitry Baranov, told reporters, BelTA learned.

“Lithuania pressed exactly the same arguments in discussions with Russia on the construction of the Baltic NPP. They practically have not changed. The ‘methods’ of the discussions have remained the same as well: something that is beneficial to Lithuania shall be put forefront, praised to high heaven. Everything that refutes the reasons of the Lithuanian authorities or shows their dependence is deliberately blacked out. For example, the situation with the environmental impact assessment (EIA) report. Russia had the report on the Baltic NPP translated into the Lithuanian language and sent through diplomatic channels. But the Lithuanian Foreign Ministry would deny the receipt of the documents and would refuse to hold debates on the project. By creating numerous filters on the way of full and objective information on the Belarusian nuclear power plant, the Lithuanian officials actually violate many provisions of the country’s Constitution, in particular the right to receive information (Art. 25),” said the Russian expert.

“We can conclude: the position of the authorities of Lithuania on construction of nuclear power plants in neighboring countries has not become more constructive. It is unlikely to set back the Baltic NPP and the Belarusian NPP projects, but definitely is turning Lithuania into a country with which you would want to limit communication or reduce this communication to a formal diplomatic level. This is something the Lithuanian people hardly need, but the situation is developing in the direction unfavorable for them,” added Dmitry Baranov.

“Hopefully, common sense will prevail on all levels of the Lithuanian authorities, and Lithuania will accommodate those who want to talk and do not want confrontation. Russia and Belarus are implementing their projects in full compliance with international law. They should understand that the Lithuanian authorities want to hamper the projects and should not engage in political pseudo-discussions,” said the expert.

On 25 July the Belarusian Foreign Ministry issued a statement saying that Lithuania is reluctant to engage in the constructive cooperation under the Convention on Environmental Impact Assessment in a Transboundary Context (the Espoo Convention). “We have to note that Lithuania is unwilling to respond in a constructive way to our suggestions on bilateral cooperation within the framework of the Convention on Environmental Impact Assessment in a Transboundary Context,” spokesman for the Foreign Ministry of Belarus Andrei Savinykh said on 25 July. According to him, Lithuania was provided with detailed answers to the questions raised. A detailed report on transboundary environmental impact assessment translated into Lithuanian has been sent to Lithuania. “All these actions are implemented in strict accordance with the provisions of the international convention. Nevertheless, we see that this information has not reached the public in Lithuania,” said Andrei Savinykh.

“We have suggested holding public consultations with the Lithuanian public on five occasions. All our proposals go unanswered. We call on Lithuania to return to constructive cooperation to fulfill the requirements of the international convention in the spirit of good-neighborliness and mutual understanding,” said the Spokesman for the Foreign Ministry of Belarus.

Belarus plans to build a nuclear power plant at the Ostrovets site in Grodno Oblast. The power plant will feature two power-generating units with the total capacity of up to 2,400MW. The Russian company OAO Nizhny Novgorod Engineering Company Atomenergoproject (NIAEP) — ZAO Atomstroyexport is the designer and the general contractor for the project. The first power-generating unit is scheduled to go online in 2018.

The Belarusian nuclear station’s design stems from the AES-2006 design developed by the Saint Petersburg-based institute Atomenergoproject. The AES-2006 design is now used to build the second Leningrad nuclear power plant and the Baltic nuclear power plant. The design meets all the requirements of the national legislation and recommendations of the International Atomic Energy Agency.