Baltic States – CIS, Belarus, Energy, Legislation, Lithuania, Nuclear power plant

"I was invited to go and have a look around the construction site (...), but I declined that invitation, because I think that this is what experts have to do," Evaldas Ignatavicius told BNS on Tuesday.

The ambassador underlined that the compliance to international safety requirements had to be ensured by the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) and that the so-called stress tests had to be carried out at the facility.

Belarus' Deputy Energy Minister Vadim Zakreskov confirmed to the ambassador last week that an incident had occurred on the site in early April.

Minsk initially denied that the structural frame of a nuclear service building to be erected between the plant's two reactors collapsed on Apr. 8.

Lithuania is the most ardent critic of the nuclear power plant, saying that Belarus fails to ensure its safety. Minsk rejects Lithuania's criticism, saying that it will ensure the highest safety standards at the facility.