Latvia Is Against Belarusian Nuclear Station Legislation, Says Foreign Minister

27 Jul (NucNet): Latvia’s government does not plan to introduce legislation that prohibits the purchase of electricity produced by the Belarusian nuclear power plant under construction at Ostrovets, Latvian foreign minister Edgars Rinkēvičs said. Mr Rinkēvičs was responding to the introduction of a law in May 2017 in Lithuania that prevents the country using electricity generated by the Belarusian station. In a statement posted on the government’s website, Mr Rinkēvičs said: "We are interested in the Belarusian nuclear station meeting all the highest safety standards. The whole region is interested in this, including Belarus itself. But we do not think that we can follow the path of adopting special bills that prohibit the purchase of electricity produced in an unsafe manner.” Mr Rinkēvičs said he intends to discuss the issue of the Belarusian station with his Belarusian colleagues and experts, instead of making “loud statements”. Mr Rinkēvičs said Latvia wants experts and the International Atomic Energy Agency, and possibly the European Union, to look at the entire construction process and give their opinions. Earlier this month, in comments that appeared to be directly aimed at Lithuania, the president of Belarus, Alexander Lukashenko, said “foreign partners” were welcome to visit the Belarusian nuclear power station. Mr Lukashenko said some of Belarus’ neighbours are not comfortable with the facility. In April 2013 the United Nations said Belarus had failed to comply fully with its obligations under the Espoo Convention on transboundary planning when it announced in September 2011 that it had chosen the Ostrovets site, close to the country’s northern borders with Lithuania and Latvia, for construction of the Belarusian station. Lithuania objected to the facility and said its objections and requests for information had not been taken into account or had only been partially answered during the transboundary environmental impact assessment procedure. Lithuania recently renewed its long-held opposition to the station by passing a law against buying its electricity. There are two 1,109-MW Russian VVER-1200 reactor units under construction at the Belarusian nuclear station. Construction of Unit 1 began in November 2013 and of Unit 2 in April 2014. According to recent media reports, first fuel will be loaded at Unit 1 in the first quarter of 2019.