REPORT: ARMENIA CALLS ON TURKEY TO JOIN NUCLEAR TENDER

Today’s Zaman
March 3 2009
Turkey

In another sign of the warming atmosphere between Ankara and Yerevan,
Armenian Prime Minister Tigran Sarksyan has called on Turkey to join
a tender for the construction of a new reactor for his country’s sole
nuclear power plant, a news report has said.

"In addition to our strategic partner, Russia, we also want our
neighbor Turkey to participate in the construction of the power
plant, which will help stability in our region," Sarksyan was quoted
as saying by Russian daily Nezavisimaya, the CNN-Turk news channel
reported yesterday. The Armenian prime minister also stressed the
economic and political importance of the power plant.

The tender for the new reactor was announced last Monday. Armenia is
seeking a new 1,000 megawatt reactor for the plant, built in 1980 about
30 kilometers west of the capital, Yerevan. The plant had been shut
down after a devastating earthquake in 1988, but it was reactivated in
1995 due to energy shortages caused by blockades imposed by Azerbaijan
and Turkey. The Turkish side is expecting official confirmation of
Sarksyan’s public call, the Nezavisimaya report said, citing unnamed
sources in Ankara. "There is a possibility of accepting Yerevan’s
proposal," a high-level Turkish official was quoted as saying by
the newspaper.

The report noted that Sarksyan’s call for Turkish participation in
the project has been warmly welcomed in Armenia, except by extreme
nationalist groups. The Armenian Energy and Natural Resources Ministry
estimated value of the project at about $5 billion. The deadline
for filing bids is April 1. Armenia’s parliament abolished a state
monopoly on the ownership of new reactors at the plant in 2006 in
a bid to attract foreign investment. Russia, the United States and
France have shown interest in the project.

The plant has been operated by Russia’s Inter RAO UES since 2003 as
part of a 10-year deal to help pay off Armenia’s debts. The current
reactor will reach the end of its operational life by 2016.

Hopes for rapprochement between Armenia and Turkey, which do not have
diplomatic ties, have been high since President Abdullah Gul visited
Armenia last September to watch a World Cup qualifying match between
the national teams of the two countries. Since then diplomats have
been holding closed-door meetings on how to normalize ties.