Armenia Azerbaijan dispute nuclear plant

SEOUL

Azerbaijani President Aliyev (L) calls the closure of Armenian nuclear plant. REUTERS photo

The Armenian and Azerbaijani Presidents disputed the safety of the Armenian nuclear power plant in Metsamor, in front of world leaders at the Seoul summit earlier this week.


Addressing the heads of more than 50 nations, including the United States, Russia and China, at the Nuclear Security Summit in Seoul, Azerbaijani President Ilham Aliyev called for the closure of the Armenian nuclear power plant. Speaking there on March 27 he said that the station, built in 1976, was outdated, did not meet modern safety standards and was located in a seismic zone. Aliyev said that all this had turned the site into a potential source of threat.
In response, Armenian President Serzh Sargsyan labeled Aliyev’s claims “disinformation” and said that “spreading slander about Armenia has long become a manner of action in Azerbaijan.” Sargsyan stressed the full compliance of the plant with International Atomic Energy Agency requirements, and that this had been confirmed by the international nuclear watchdog’s mission last year. Sargsyan also criticized Turkey and Azarbaijan for “exaggerating the issue,” Anatolia news agency reported. “Two out of Armenia’s four neighbors, in blatant violation of international norms, have been blockading our country for the last twenty years, leaving us no alternative to achieving energy independence,” he said, the Armenianow website reported.