Deputy Foreign Minister: proximity to Ignalina NPP arouses concern in Belarus

This was stated by Belarus’ Deputy Foreign Minister Yuri Ambrazevich on the sidelines of a thematic meeting of the Council for Sustainable Development dedicated to the International Chernobyl Disaster Remembrance Day

“The Ignalina nuclear power plant is actually the twin of the Chernobyl NPP, built using Soviet technologies. Our neighbourhood arouses logical concern. The main thing we do not have is a proper level of communication with the Lithuanian government on the safety of the Ignalina NPP,” Mr. Ambrazevich explained.

The Deputy Foreign Minister drew attention to the fact that a nuclear power plant is a complex technological facility ‘which can’t be simply covered with turf, like a bonfire’. “Even after it is decommissioned, a long serious conservation work is needed. At the moment, we are not sure that everything is going properly. We’re certainly interested in bilateral communication with our Lithuanian colleagues on these issues both at the political level and at the level of technical experts, where all these issues should be clarified,” he asserted.