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“I would like to appeal once again to the Lithuanian leaders from this site, the Belarusian nuclear power plant: let’s live in a friendly way. Let us work together,” he emphasized, addressing the staff and builders of the power plant; his words were quoted by the state news agency BelTA.
According to A. Lukashenko, Belarusians and Lithuanians used to live together “normally”, both in the only state that existed and “until now”.
“It just came to our notice then. Well, well, if you realize that you are wrong, leave our garden, let’s work together: you in your garden, we in yours. Let’s produce electricity, sell, exchange electricity. Let’s live normally! We are neighbors and there are no neighbors, ”he said.
Lukashenko asked Warsaw to make the same call.
“It just came to our notice then. We will not kneel. We will respond, and I have already said it: even if we are left alone in the environment, we will respond. I think they understood. Let’s work together, we are willing to cooperate openly,” he said.
Grand opening of the power plant
The date chosen for this ceremony coincides with the anniversary of the Bolshevik coup in Russia in 1917, and in Belarus, which gained independence 28 years ago, November 7 has always been a holiday.
Authorizing President Aliaksandr Lukashenko, who has led the country for 26 years and recently came under great pressure to resign after the disputed elections, said on September 16: “November 7 is a memorable day for us. . We can stay there and say we get the first electricity from our nuclear power plant. “
The president described the inauguration of the plant as a historic event in the history of his country.
“Everything is so mundane as if we had built a subway. This is a historic moment: the country is becoming an atomic state,” Lukashenko told the state news agency BelTA on Saturday.
In addition to Belarusian officials, the event will be attended by Grigory Rapota, Secretary of State for the Union with Russia, Alexei Lichachev, head of the Russian energy giant Rosatom, which built the Astrava power plant, and Dmitry Mezencev, Russian ambassador to Belarus.
The Energy Ministry announced that the Astrava nuclear power plant was connected to the Belarusian power grid on November 3, followed by tests of the operational stability of the plant.
The Belarusian Ministry of Energy has previously announced that the power plant’s first design-capable reactor should start operating in the first quarter of 2021.
The first nuclear power plant in Belarus under construction near the Lithuanian state will have two reactors from the Russian VVER project, each with a capacity of 1,200 megawatts. The second reactor is expected to come online approximately one year after the start of the first reactor.
The project is financed by a loan from the Russian government; the power plant is being built by Rosatom Corporation.
Increase capacity
An increase in the capacity of the first unit was also announced on Saturday.
“The power unit capacity-building ceremony was held in the presence of the head of state, Aliaksandr Lukashenko, and representatives of the ministry announced on the” Telegram “correspondence platform.
The Astrava nuclear power plant was connected to the Belarusian power grid on November 3.
“In three days from the connection to the joint energy system, the Belarusian nuclear power plant provided more than 22 million kilowatt-hours of electricity, saving 6.4 million cubic meters of natural gas worth about 1 million dollars [840 tūkst. eurų]”Said the ministry.
According to the institution, “the electricity from the nuclear power plant is supplied to all regions of the country. The reactor of the first power unit is operating at 40%. power ‘.
“According to the test programs, the capacity of the power unit will gradually increase to the design level: 1,190 megawatts. Commissioning of the first power unit for industrial operation is scheduled for the first quarter of 2021,” he reported. the Ministry of Energy.
According to her, much work had been done before the power plant was commissioned, including testing and training of personnel.
Not a single conflict
The Astrava nuclear power plant project has sparked a political conflict between Belarus and Lithuania that has been going on for several years, making the power plant unsafe and urging the world community to pressure Lukashenko to stop. His construction.
When the nuclear power plant started producing electricity, Lithuania immediately stopped trading with Belarus. However, physically electricity will continue to flow to the Baltic market because it is in deficit.
As Lithuania has not yet approved a unified methodology for trilateral electricity trading with Russia, Latvia promises to start trading with Russia on a common connection on November 5.
Sent a note
A protest note from the Lithuanian Foreign Ministry (MFA) sent to Minsk on Wednesday condemned Belarus’s actions, which pose a nuclear and environmental threat not only to Belarus or Lithuania, but also to Europe as a whole.
Vilnius called on Belarus to suspend the operation of the nuclear power plant until the highest standards of nuclear safety and environmental requirements are met.
The note also recalls that Astrava NPP violates the international conventions of Espoo and Aarhus, the recommendations of the European Union during the stress test process have not been implemented.
At the time, Minsk constantly emphasized that the Astrava power plant would help reduce the amount of fossil energy resources imported from Russia – oil and gas. Belarus is expected to reduce its Russian gas consumption by 5 billion euros when the nuclear power plant becomes fully operational. puppy. meters per year, which is about a quarter of total annual gas imports.
The Astrava power plant opens in Belarus after high tensions following the controversial presidential elections on August 9. The opposition and western democracies consider these elections to be rigged.
Massive demonstrations have been taking place in the country for almost three months, during which Lukashenko, 66, who has led the country since 1994, has been asked to resign. He also calls for the release of political prisoners and the holding of new elections .
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