Russia perceives the allegations regarding the Metsamor NPP as a threat to security in the region as an attempt to create a split in relations with Yerevan, the official representative of the Russian Foreign Ministry, Maria Zakharova, stated on Saturday.
"We perceive such information tricks as attempts to create a division in the Russian-Armenian cooperation in this field, to hinder the development of initiatives with the participation of Russia. In addition, they are seen as steps that contribute to the advancement of Western projects and technologies that are truly destructive for the region, which, including from the point of view of security, are significantly inferior to the Russian ones," said Zakharova in her answer to the relevant question of the media.
The Russian diplomat reminded that the Metsamor nuclear power plant "is a system-creating element of the energy system of the republic, it produces about 30 percent of electricity."
"Stable production of affordable electricity gives Armenia the opportunity to develop industry and ensure technological progress for many years. In the modern world, especially against the background of the unsuccessful experience of a number of European countries in switching to renewable energy sources, the peaceful atom is one of the factors of sovereignty and energy security. "Closing one's own nuclear power plant will not lead to anything, except that it will strengthen the state's dependence on other countries in the energy sector," said the official representative of the Russian Foreign Ministry.
He emphasized that the reliability of the station is also confirmed at the AEMG. In October 2022, the agency's director general, Rafael Grossi, who visited the plant, "acknowledged that all measures have been taken to increase nuclear and physical security".
Zakharova reminded that "now Russian and Armenian specialists are implementing a complex of measures to extend the operation period of the station until 2036".
