Astravyets

The coronavirus pandemic and the Seimas election have been named the key 2020 events in Lithuania, according to Lithuanian journalists surveyed by BNS.

Lithuania's parliamentary Committee on European Affairs has called on the government to step up pressure on Latvia over electricity trade with Russia amid suspicions that power generated by Belarus' Astravyets nuclear power station could be thus entering the Lithuanian market.

Lithuania has halted electricity trade with Belarus after the neighboring country connected the Astravyets nuclear power plant to its energy system.

Moscow's call on Lithuania to review a new draft methodology for electricity trade between the three Baltic countries and Russia shows that the Baltic states are taking the right steps, Lithuanian Energy Minister Zygimantas Vaiciunas said.

Moscow has called on Lithuania to review a new draft methodology for electricity trade between the three Baltic countries and Russia that will lead to a sharp decrease in trade volumes after Belarus launches its Astravyets nuclear power plant, sources told BNS.

Lithuania has on Tuesday handed in a diplomatic note to Minsk over plans to launch power production at the Astravyets nuclear power plant in early November, Asta Skaisgiryte, an adviser to the Lithuanian president, said today.

Lithuanian President Gitanas Nauseda is calling on the European Union to impose sanctions against Alexander Lukashenko and is planning to initiate European discussions on economic support to Belarus after the authoritarian regime falls.

Lithuania and Ukraine are holding the same position on the situation in Belarus and are calling for a new fair election in the neighboring country, Lithuanian President Gitanas Nauseda said on Monday evening.

The Baltic states' joint boycott of electricity from the Astravyets nuclear power plant will cost Belarus "hundreds of millions of euros" in lost revenue annually, Lithuanian Energy Minister Zygimantas Vaiciunas has said.

Amid tensions over the Astravyets nuclear power plant, Belarus has moved the Lithuanian kindergarten in Rymdziuny, a village in the district of Astravyets, into new premises.

Belarus may officially open its Astravyets nuclear power plant (NPP) on Friday in a symbolic move ahead of this weekend's presidential election, but the facility is unlikely to start actual operations until late this year or early next year, the Lithuanian president's national security advisor said ...

Lithuania has no official information on the Astravyets nuclear power plant's planned launch on Friday, the chairman of the parliamentary Committee on National Security and Defense and the energy minister say.

Lithuania has called on Minsk not to launch the Astravyets nuclear power plants without the elimination of safety shortcomings.

The number of Lithuanian residents considering Belarus to be an unfriendly state is rising amid ongoing disagreements over the Astravyets nuclear power plant, a new public opinion survey has revealed on Friday.

With Belarus gearing up for the launch of its nuclear power plant in Astravyets, Lithuania is working to put in place additional monitoring capacities that would ensure rapid response to any danger, Environment Minister Kestutis Mazeika has said.

Discussions on the safety of the Astrayets nuclear power plant in Belarus, set to be launched in August, will continue, Ursula von der Leyen, president of the European Commission said on Thursday after a video conference of Eastern Partnership leaders in Brussels.

Lithuania's Health Emergency Situations Center has on Thursday handed over potassium iodide pills to the municipalities of Vilnius and Svencionys Districts to be distributed to local resident for their protection in case of a nuclear accident.

Lithuania expects that the three Baltic countries will soon sign an agreement to block market access for electricity generated by Belarus' Astravyets nuclear power plant by 2026, when their grids are planned to be synchronized with the Continental European system.

Prime Minister Saulius Skvernelis says the Baltic countries are moving closer to a joint decision not to buy electricity from Belarus' Astravyets nuclear power plant built near the border with Lithuania.

The safety of the Astravyets nuclear power plant should be a priority for the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA), Lithuanian Energy Minister Zygimantas Vaiciunas said on Thursday after meeting with the IAEA's new director general Rafael Mariano Grossi on Vienna.