Minsk to Report to EC After Stress Tests at Belarusian NPP – Energy Ministry

Belarus will present a national report to the European Commission after the nuclear safety stress tests of the Belarusian nuclear power plant (NPP), which is currently under construction, will be completed, Belarusian Energy Minister Vladimir Potupchik said Friday.

MINSK (Sputnik) — On Thursday, German Chancellor Angela Merkel said that Germany advocated for the observance of high technical standards in the construction of the Belarusian NPP on border with Lithuania after the latter expressed its concern, saying that it would use the European Commission to ensure safety of the NPP.

"The Republic of Belarus did not cover up from anyone. We are currently working with the EC within the framework of preparation of a national report on the results of stress tests. The results are currently being processed and soon will be sent to our regulators," Potupchik told reporters.

Belarus is not covering up anything from Merkel or the European Union, the energy minister added.

"We are opened for a normal dialogue, we do not want this process to become politicized," Potupchik underlined.

The Belarusian NPP, located on the border with Lithuania, is set to become the country's first nuclear plant. The first power unit was previously expected to go online in 2018 and the second in 2020. Lithuania, which, in turn, has plans to build the Visaginas NPP near the border with Belarus, has expressed doubt over the safety of the Belarusian NPP, voicing concerns it might not comply with the international standards. Minsk has issued assurances that the plant, which is being built jointly with Russia, complies with the highest possible standards.

The plant is a VVER-1200 (NPP-2006) project powered by Russian reactors. The improved VVER (Water-Water Energetic Reactor) complies with the latest safety norms developed following the 2011 Fukushima Daiichi nuclear disaster.