He confirmed to BNS that he met with his Belarusian counterpart, Vladimir Tsalko, in Klaipėda on Wednesday and discussed the issues pertaining to the Astravyets nuclear facility.
“We were told that they planned to provide written answers in the near future, as far as I understood, in one or two weeks. I have no reasons not to believe it,” Mazuronis told BNS.
Belarusian Minister for Environment, who arrived to Lithuania to take part in the bilateral economic forum hosted in Klaipėda, was reminded about the findings of the Espoo Convention’s Implementation Committee that the country had violated the requirements of the Convention, he said.
“We exchanged views, including the views about their nuclear power plant. I reminded them that we would like to get the answers about the Astravyets nuclear power plant – its site, other issues related with environmental impact assessment - as soon as possible. Once we have them, we will make them available to the public and the discussions at the expert level would follow,” Mazuronis told BNS.
Lithuania has repeatedly criticized Belarus for its plans to build a nuclear facility at a distance of only 50 kilometers from the Lithuanian capital. Vilnius also has concerns about compliance with security standards at the nuclear power plant.
Pursuant to the Espoo Convention, an environmental impact assessment shall be undertaken prior to a decision on the priority project site. In particular, the Party of origin shall answer all of the questions put forward by the affected Parties, inform their public about the project, and hold bilateral consultations.
