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SERZH SARGSYAN: NO TALK OF CLOSING THE NUKE STATION UNTIL ARMENIA BLOCKADE LIFTED
By Naira Hayrumyan
ArmeniaNow
28.03.12 | 12:40
Photo: www.president.am
Armenian President Serzh Sargsyan attending the Nuclear Security
Council in Seoul, South Korea, made a speech on Tuesday, stressing
that Armenia is making concrete efforts to ensure the control over
nuclear security.
He also reassured the world community that Armenia fully safeguards
the safe operation of its Soviet-built nuclear reactor at the Metsamor
plant, whose life span ends in 2016.
Earlier, Azerbaijani President Ilham Aliyev took advantage of his
participation in the nuclear summit to once again call for the closure
of the Armenian nuclear power plant. Speaking there on March 27 he
said that the station in Metsamor that was built in 1976 was outdated,
did not meet the modern safety standards and is located in a seismic
zone. In his opinion, all this has turned it into a source of threat.
In response, Sargsyan called it "disinformation" and said he wasn't
by what Aliyev had said as "spreading slander about Armenia has long
become a manner of action in Azerbaijan." He stressed that the full
compliance of the Armenian nuclear power plant with the requirements
of the International Atomic Energy Agency was confirmed by this
international nuclear watchdog body's mission last year.
Azerbaijan and Turkey speculate on the issue of the Armenian nuclear
station not only because it may represent an environmental hazard. The
closure of the facility that generates the bulk of Armenia's energy
appears to be part of these allied countries' strategy for a complete
transport and energy blockade of Armenia. Turkey and Azerbaijan
hold their border with Armenia closed, which significantly reduces
the landlocked country's transport and energy potential. However,
thanks to the nuclear power plant, Armenia not only can provide itself
with energy, but also export it. This is against the plans of Turkey
and Azerbaijan, which are trying to lobby for the closure of the
Metsamor station.
Armenia has already once managed to extend the term of operation of
its nuclear reactor, which is designed for 30 years. But until 2016
the Armenian leadership will have to try to prolong the life of the
plant further in order to find investors for the construction of a
new nuclear reactor. President Sargsyan has already stated that the
currently operated reactor will be shut down only when the new one
is put into operation.
The main argument of Armenia in constructing a new nuclear power plant
is that in conditions of a total blockade Armenia has no other sources
of energy. At the summit in Seoul Sargsyan called for addressing
nuclear safety issues in a complex with related problems and not to
turn energy resources into political capital. In fact, Sargsyan set
a condition: there can be no talk about the Armenian nuclear power
plant's closure until the blockade of the country is lifted.
"Two out of Armenia's four neighbors, in blatant violation of
international norms, have been blockading our country for the last
twenty years, among other things leaving us no alternatives in
achieving energy independence," President Sargsyan said.
The summit in Seoul adopted a final communique, in which there is
no mention of the closure of obsolete plants. The two-day nuclear
summit attended by the leaders of more than 50 nations, including
the United States, Russia and China, ended on March 27, with the
participants committing themselves to taking new and more serious
measures to prevent the threat of nuclear terrorism.
By Naira Hayrumyan
ArmeniaNow
28.03.12 | 12:40
Photo: www.president.am
Armenian President Serzh Sargsyan attending the Nuclear Security
Council in Seoul, South Korea, made a speech on Tuesday, stressing
that Armenia is making concrete efforts to ensure the control over
nuclear security.
He also reassured the world community that Armenia fully safeguards
the safe operation of its Soviet-built nuclear reactor at the Metsamor
plant, whose life span ends in 2016.
Earlier, Azerbaijani President Ilham Aliyev took advantage of his
participation in the nuclear summit to once again call for the closure
of the Armenian nuclear power plant. Speaking there on March 27 he
said that the station in Metsamor that was built in 1976 was outdated,
did not meet the modern safety standards and is located in a seismic
zone. In his opinion, all this has turned it into a source of threat.
In response, Sargsyan called it "disinformation" and said he wasn't
by what Aliyev had said as "spreading slander about Armenia has long
become a manner of action in Azerbaijan." He stressed that the full
compliance of the Armenian nuclear power plant with the requirements
of the International Atomic Energy Agency was confirmed by this
international nuclear watchdog body's mission last year.
Azerbaijan and Turkey speculate on the issue of the Armenian nuclear
station not only because it may represent an environmental hazard. The
closure of the facility that generates the bulk of Armenia's energy
appears to be part of these allied countries' strategy for a complete
transport and energy blockade of Armenia. Turkey and Azerbaijan
hold their border with Armenia closed, which significantly reduces
the landlocked country's transport and energy potential. However,
thanks to the nuclear power plant, Armenia not only can provide itself
with energy, but also export it. This is against the plans of Turkey
and Azerbaijan, which are trying to lobby for the closure of the
Metsamor station.
Armenia has already once managed to extend the term of operation of
its nuclear reactor, which is designed for 30 years. But until 2016
the Armenian leadership will have to try to prolong the life of the
plant further in order to find investors for the construction of a
new nuclear reactor. President Sargsyan has already stated that the
currently operated reactor will be shut down only when the new one
is put into operation.
The main argument of Armenia in constructing a new nuclear power plant
is that in conditions of a total blockade Armenia has no other sources
of energy. At the summit in Seoul Sargsyan called for addressing
nuclear safety issues in a complex with related problems and not to
turn energy resources into political capital. In fact, Sargsyan set
a condition: there can be no talk about the Armenian nuclear power
plant's closure until the blockade of the country is lifted.
"Two out of Armenia's four neighbors, in blatant violation of
international norms, have been blockading our country for the last
twenty years, among other things leaving us no alternatives in
achieving energy independence," President Sargsyan said.
The summit in Seoul adopted a final communique, in which there is
no mention of the closure of obsolete plants. The two-day nuclear
summit attended by the leaders of more than 50 nations, including
the United States, Russia and China, ended on March 27, with the
participants committing themselves to taking new and more serious
measures to prevent the threat of nuclear terrorism.