Republic

Belarus acts to ward off construction of radioactive waste burial site close to its borders

The Belarusian government is keeping a close eye on the developments around the Lithuania-spearheaded construction of a radioactive waste burial site in the vicinity of the Belarusian borders. All measures are being taken to prevent storage of radioactive waste close to the Belarusian border, premier Sergei Sidorskiy said while meeting with employers of JSC Svetlogorsk Pulp and Paper Factory. When asked how real the threat was of such a depository storing the radioactive waste of the Ignalina Nuclear Power Plant appearing near Belarus, the premier elaborated on the steps undertaken by the government in this sphere. In particular, the premier mantioned his recent meeting with Lithuanian premier, setting up a joint commission to monitor the implementation of the project and touched upon other measures in that field. The Lithuanian government was warned that Belarus would take adequate economic measures in case Lithuania starts construction of the nuclear depository, Sergei Sidorskiy stressed. Today the situation around the project is calm, Sergei Sidorskiy said.