No formulation in Armenia-EU Agreement on closing Metsamor nuclear power plant – deputy FM

Armenia’s deputy foreign minister Karen Nazaryan assures that there is no formulation in the Armenia-EU Comprehensive and Enhanced Partnership Agreement (CEPA) on closing the Metsamor nuclear power plant.

During the parliamentary debate of the CEPA ratification, the deputy FM, in response to the question of Vice Speaker of the Parliament Mikayel Melkumyan, stated that there is no talk on closure of the NPP in the CEPA, adding that after the release of the Agreement such reports were circulated ungrounded.

“In the energy field we agreed with the EU to cooperate based on the principles of partnership, mutual interest, transparency and predictability. This partnership, in addition to other issues, must also include the early adoption of the road map or action plan for safe decommissioning of the Metsamor NPP. In other words, the talk is about early adoption of the road map, rather than about the closure of the NPP”, the deputy FM noted.

He said according to the Agreement the sides agreed to take into account Armenia’s features, the standards of the International Atomic Energy Agency, the EU’s experience while cooperating in the field of nuclear safety. He said replacing the NPP with the new one is not their desire, but the main requirement of Armenia’s energy development strategy.

The deputy minister said the 42nd article of the Agreement mentions about the necessity of replacement of a new power plant bloc, as well as ensuring conditions for Armenia’s energy safety and sustainable development. “The article is based on this fact, rather than on closure of the NPP after the signing of the Agreement. There is no such provision in the Agreement”, Karen Nazaryan stated.