Lithuania, Estonia Agreed To Convince Baltic States Not To Import Energy From BelNPP

MOSCOW (Pakistan Point News / Sputnik - 14th August, 2020) Lithuanian President Gitanas Nauseda and his Estonian counterpart, Kersti Kaljulaid, agreed to work on a common agreement among the Baltic countries to stop importing electricity from the Belarusian NPP, the Lithuanian leader's office said in a statement.

"The leaders also agreed to work together to reach a unanimous agreement among the Baltic States on the non-buying of electricity from the Ostravets NPP," said the message published following the meeting of the two leaders.

The Estonian leader thanked his Lithuanian counterpart for "uncompromising support in assessing the threat of the Ostravets NPP and its commitment not to allow the electricity from Ostravets to enter the Estonian or EU market."

Lithuania has been opposing Belarusian NPP since Minsk made a decision on its construction. The country's parliament ruled that the power plant poses a "threat to the national security" of Lithuania. Minsk, in turn, guarantees that the nuclear power plant will meet the highest safety standards. It is located some 30 miles from the Lithuanian capital of Vilnius. The Lithuanian government has already decided that it would not purchase electricity from the station.

The general contractor for the construction of Belarusian NPP is Atomstroyexport, subsidiary of Russian nuclear corporation Rosatom. The station will consist of two power units with VVER-1200 reactors with a total installed electrical capacity of 2,400 megawatts. The power start-up of the first power unit with connection to the country's power grid is planned in the fourth quarter of this year. Commissioning of the second power unit is scheduled for 2022.