ArmInfo. Maria Zakharova, the Russian Foreign Ministry representative, did not rule out the participation of Prime Minister of Armenia Nikol Pashinyan in the international forum "World Atomic Week" in Moscow from September 25 to 28. She stated this during her weekly press briefing.
"We are carrying out serious preparatory work, invitations to the leaders of states have been sent in advance, and we have already received responses from some of them. We do not rule out the arrival of the Prime Minister of Armenia. But we need to confirm this, by contacting officials in Yerevan," the representative of the Russian Foreign Ministry said. At the same time, she pointed out the Armenian side's interest in continuing productive bilateral cooperation with the Russian Federation in peaceful atom.
In this regard, Zakharova recalled that Rosatom is carrying out work in Armenia to extend the operating life of the nuclear power plant until 2036. "New generation issues are being discussed. We understand that the partners want to approach this issue thoroughly, to assess all possible options," she noted.
According to Zakharova, the management of Rosatom is in regular contact and dialogue with the government of Armenia. In this vein, she pointed out that Russia is ready for various scenarios and has the whole range -from small modular reactors to a new large modern station. "Russia, unlike, for example, what the United States is promoting, relies on proven and tested developments," she added.
Additionally, Zakharova highlighted the ongoing attempts of ill-wishers to discredit Russian-Armenian cooperation in the nuclear sphere and based on unfounded allegations that the Metsamor nuclear power plant operating in Armenia may soon be out of service and that it poses a serious threat. The representative of the Russian Foreign Ministry noted the following: "I will simply remind you that the Metsamor nuclear power plant was built specifically for Armenia, taking into account the seismological and climatic features of the Republic. The safety of the plant has been repeatedly confirmed by the IAEA. Experts, including Armenians, understand well where the propaganda and Western fakes are, where the nuclear industry is experiencing hard times, to put it mildly, and where there are real and reliable solutions that are happily accepted and applied throughout the world," she concluded.
