Lithuania presses Russia over nuclear plant Vilnius (AFP) April 28, 2011 Lithuania on Thursday stepped up pressure on neighbour Russia over plans to build a nuclear power plant near the Baltic state, insisting its safety concerns had not been met. Foreign Minister Audronius Azubalis said he had raised Lithuania's unanswered concerns during a visit by Nikolai Tsukanov, governor of Russia's Kaliningrad territory where the plant is set to be located. "There are no numbers, no facts. Only the statements 'We are open, we will provide all the information', which are nice promises that have nothing to do with today's reality," Azubalis told journalists after his meeting. "Lithuania is asking not for assurances but for answers based on numbers and facts," he added. Tsukanov dismissed the concerns, saying Russia's state nuclear conglomerate Rosatom had assured him the plant, meant to be online by 2016, would have the "the safest reactor in the world". Vilnius repeatedly has criticised the planned plant in Kaliningrad -- a Russian Baltic Sea territory nestled between Lithuania and Poland -- as well as one set to be built in neighbouring Belarus. It has faulted environmental impact assessments and expressed fears about proximity to Lithuanian cities. The site of the planned plant in Belarus is just 50 kilometres (40 miles) from the Lithuanian capital Vilnius, for example. Lithuania shut down its only nuclear plant -- a Soviet-era facility -- in 2009 under the terms of its 2004 European Union entry. It aims to build a new one by 2020 with fellow ex-communist EU members Poland, Latvia and Estonia, but progress has been sluggish.
Share This Article With Planet Earth
Related Links Nuclear Power News - Nuclear Science, Nuclear Technology Powering The World in the 21st Century at Energy-Daily.com
Romania seeks private money to build nuclear plant Bucharest (AFP) April 27, 2011 Romania wants to attract private investors to modernise its road infrastructure and to build two new reactors at the Cernavoda nuclear plant, Prime Minister Emil Boc said Wednesday. "The government wants to resort to public-private partnerships in order to launch infrastructure works not benefitting from public money or European funds," Boc told a press conference. He said the list inclu ... read more |
|
The content herein, unless otherwise known to be public domain, are Copyright 1995-2010 - SpaceDaily. AFP and UPI Wire Stories are copyright Agence France-Presse and United Press International. ESA Portal Reports are copyright European Space Agency. All NASA sourced material is public domain. Additional copyrights may apply in whole or part to other bona fide parties. Advertising does not imply endorsement,agreement or approval of any opinions, statements or information provided by SpaceDaily on any Web page published or hosted by SpaceDaily. Privacy Statement |