Belarusian Energy Ministry Slams Lithuania For Trying To Discredit Belarus NPP

Umer Jamshaid Published October 29, 2020 | 01:33 PM

Lithuania's note of protest related to the upcoming launch of the Belarusian Nuclear Power Plant (NPP) is just a failed attempt to discredit the project in the eyes of Europeans, the Belarusian Energy Ministry said on Thursday, accusing Lithuania of failing to act constructivel

MINSK (UrduPoint News / Sputnik - 29th October, 2020) Lithuania's note of protest related to the upcoming launch of the Belarusian Nuclear Power Plant (NPP) is just a failed attempt to discredit the project in the eyes of Europeans, the Belarusian Energy Ministry said on Thursday, accusing Lithuania of failing to act constructively.

In the recently submitted note of protest, the Lithuanian Foreign Ministry cited security concerns, since the NPP is located close to its borders. According to Lithuania, its "irresponsible and hasty" launch ignores safety requirements and might affect citizens of the European Union.

"The Lithuanian side has repeatedly taken steps to prevent the construction of the Belarusian NPP, it uses various pressure instruments, from loud statements by Lithuania's high-ranking officials and politicians about the threat that the NPP poses to Europe, to calls for boycotting the construction on international platforms.

However, they do not present a single substantiated explanation to prove the alleged unsafety of the plant. We only hear groundless statements, aimed at forming a negative attitude to the Belarusian NPP project," the Belarusian Energy Ministry's spokeswoman, Olga Kozlovich, said in a statement.

The spokeswoman added that Lithuania's steps were politically motivated, since Lithuanian experts had never in fact requested access to the Belarusian NPP.

"We have not had constructive dialogue as we do not get any feedback. Lithuania has chosen the tactics of unjustified objection and accusation," Kozlovich went on to say.

The Belarusian Energy Ministry also refuted claims about hasty launch of the NPP, stressing that pre-launch operations are being carried out in strict compliance with the schedule.