Lithuanian, Belarusian experts resume Astravyets N-plant discussions in Minsk

The experts plan to discuss issues that were not discussed during their previous meeting in Vilnius in June, Vitalijus Auglys, the head of the Lithuanian delegation, told BNS.

“Half of issues remain not fully covered after the meeting in Vilnius. There are issues related to the project itself and the latest incidents have also been added. These issues include the protection of the River Neris and cooling and environmental monitoring issues,” Auglys, who is the director of the Pollution Prevention Department at the Lithuanian Environment Ministry, said.

This is a second visit by Lithuanian experts to Belarus in an effort to solve the Astravyets plant problem. The first visit to Minsk took place back in 2009, when the project’s environmental impact assessment process started, he said.

Following the meeting in Vilnius in June, Lithuania proposed that Belarus temporarily suspend the construction of the nuclear power plant until stress tests were performed, but Minsk refused to do so.

Belarus says that Atomproekt, a subsidiary of Russia’s Rosatom, the Astravyets project contractor, will carry out risk and stress tests by the end of the year.