Turkey, Azerbaijan try to gamble on Armenian nuclear plant issue

PanARMENIAN.Net - Member of the ARF Dashnaktsutyun parliamentary group, head of the RA National Assembly Standing Committee on Defense, National Security and Internal Affairs, Hrayr Karapetyan said that Turkey and Azerbaijan try to gamble on the Armenian nuclear power plant in every possible way.

Karapetyan recently participated in a seminar held in Geneva on the role of parliaments in control over arms, disarmament and non-proliferation of weapons of mass annihilation. During it, the Turkish and Azerbaijani delegations insisted on the necessity to close the Armenian NPP.

“Turkish and Azerbaijani participants stated that the Armenian NPP poses a serious threat for the region, citing the example of Japan. They urged the EU and U.S. to prevent construction of the new energy unit of the Armenian NPP and solve the matter of its closure as soon as possible. In response, I said that the Armenian NPP completely meets the safety norms and closely cooperates with IAEA,” Karapetyan told a press conference in Yerevan.

During the seminar, Karapetyan also said that Armenia, which has been blocked by Turkey and Azerbaijan for 17 years, has to look for alternative sources.

Earlier, head of the Center for Seismic Resistance of Constructions at the RA Ministry of Emergency Situations Zaven Khlghatyan said that the Armenian nuclear power plant in Metsamor is designed to stand a 9.0-magnitude earthquake.

The Armenian nuclear power plant has been considered a property of extreme importance, and it was constructed based on special standards with taking into consideration the territory’s seismic hazard, Khlghatyan told a press conference in Yerevan.

A 9.0 magnitude earthquake and tsunami on March 11 knocked out the cooling systems of the Fukushima plant's six reactors - triggering explosions and fires, releasing radiation and sparking global fears of a widening disaster.