Russia is disappointed by the Lithuanian refusal to have a dialogue on Baltic NPP

the Lithuanian media report, referring to a letter of Sergey Novikov, the Head of the Communications Department of ROSATOM, sent to Vice-Minister of Foreign Affairs of the Republic of Lithuania Andrius Krivas.

On Monday several Lithuanian media published this document in the Lithuanian language. In his letter Novikov in particular reminds that in 2011 ROSATOM’s experts held a series of consultations regarding the Environmental Impact Assessment (EIA) of Baltic NPP with Latvia, Germany, Poland, Belarus, Estonia, Finland, Denmark, Norway, and Sweden.

“At that, Lithuania has become the only state that is wandering from bilateral consultations on the Baltic NPP EIA, with which, unlike other countries of this region, this process has not been completed. With this, the MFA of Russia sent more than a dozen of notes with answers to specific technical questions asked by Lithuania. Besides, letters were sent to key ministers of the Republic of Lithuania with explanation on the situation around Baltic NPP. A total volume of responses that have been sent to Lithuania by date amounts to more than 1,000 pages,” the letter says.

The representative of the Russian state-owned nuclear corporation points out that ROSATOM so far has regularly sent Lithuania the information on the Baltic NPP project and answered questions coming from Lithuania. In addition, through the MFA of Russia the Lithuanian party was handed over a shortened version of the updated EIA, which was especially translated into the Lithuanian language.

“Given the actions described above, I am obliged to say that the Russian party is keenly disappointed by your recent statement on the insufficient interaction of our states concerning the issues associated with the Baltic NPP construction project that is being implemented,” Novikov’s letter says.

Novikov also notes that in spite of the current status of mutual clarification of positions, Lithuania “allows itself making petulance about categorical unacceptability of the Russian explanations for certain ministries and authorities of the Republic of Lithuania while indicating no reasons.”

In spite of all the problems that have come up in the dialogue with Lithuania, ROSATOM recalled “the Lithuanian party to resume the constructive dialogue in the spirit of the mutually beneficial cooperation, which is full in line with the relations of friendship and good neighborliness that have formed between our nations.” Novikov asked the Lithuanian vice-minister to bring the position of Russia to all ministries and authorities concerned as well as to mass media and general public of the Republic of Lithuania.