US NOT IN FAVOR OF BUILDING NEW NUCLEAR POWER PLANT IN ARMENIA

Noyan Tapan
May 02 2006

YEREVAN, MAY 2, NOYAN TAPAN. Issues related to construction of a
second nuclear power plant in Armenia were discussed at the 12th
sitting of the US-Armenia Task Force (USATF) in Yerevan on May
2. RA Minister of Finance and Economy Vardan Khachatrian stated
this at a press conference following the sitting. “The RA energy
minister presented clearly that if the operating Metsamor nuclear
power plant is closed, a new one must start operating on the same
day,” V. Khachatrian said. According to him, it is envisaged that
the second nuclear power plant should have a greater capacity of
1,000 megawatts. At the same time, as the finance minister noted,
the Armenian government must be able to obtain the necessary funds
for the construction of a new nuclear power plant and the closure of
the old one. Tom Adams, US Coordinator for Europe and Eurasia, said
that the US government is not in favor of the idea of building a new
nuclear plant in Armenia. In his words, taking the issue of security
into account, it would be more correct to find an alternative solution.