Lithuanian Minister Of Energy: Latvia May Agree To Boycott Belarusian NPP

Zygimantas Vaiciunas sees positive changes in Latvia's position on a possible boycott of the Astravets NPP which is being constructed.

"We have the political support of Latvia, we agreed that the we should follow a common position in this issue. In particular, regarding restricting access of this energy on the market. We have agreed to establish a joint group of experts who will assess the technical possibilities for the implementation of these measures. They should start working as soon as possible," – Zygimantas Vaiciunas said in Riga on Wednesday after a meeting with Minister of Economics of Latvia Arvils Aseradens, delfi.lt writes.

However, he noted that this didn't mean that Latvia had agreed to boycott Belarusian electric power, but first of all it wanted to evaluate the technical and economic consequences of boycotting the Belarusian electricity. However, Vaiciunas calls this neighbors' attitude a step forward.

as the parliamentary parties’ agreement and its content, and it is a strong signal that we have a clear national position on this issue, and it pushes for the overall position in the region. I rate this as a definite shift, but we will see in the future, what Latvia’s specific decisions are. But there is the principle and the agreement to come to a consensus at the regional level as quickly as possible," – the minister said. Latvian Foreign Minister Edgars Rinkevics said in his interview in mid-January that Latvia supports Lithuania's position to demand the highest safety standards for the Belarusian NPP, however, it does not consider the possibility of limiting the import of electricity from Belarus in its market.