Security Council Secretary: Talks with US on new nuclear plant in substantive phase

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YEREVAN, July 3. /ARKA/. Armenia and the United States are in talks to construct a new nuclear plant in the South Caucasian country, Security Council Secretary Armen Grigoryan said on Wednesday./pp “We have entered a very substantive phase with regard to the construction of a new nuclear power plant [in Armenia]. That is, we are discussing with the US the matter of regulating the legal contract field [in that regard]; we cannot move forward without that field. At this moment, I can say that the ball is in the US’ court, we expect our system procedures in the US to pass, and then we will start working on diversification, Grigoryan stated./pp

The nuclear power plant in Armenia’s Metsamor is the only nuclear facility in the South Caucasus and provides for around 40% of the country’s power supply. Unveiled in 1976, the plant was shut down following the 1988 Spitak Earthquake and restarted in 1995./pp

An agreement with Russia’s Rosatom nuclear operator allowed Armenia to extend the plant’s service life until 2026. Armenia is looking forward to constructing a new nuclear plant within the next 8-10 years, discussing possible partnership options with Russia, the US, and South Korea./p