Deputy Secretary of the Russian Security Council, Aleksey Shevtsov, has questioned the need for Armenia to diversify its cooperation with other countries in the peaceful nuclear energy sector.

"In the context of the statements of the Armenian authorities about the need to diversify cooperation in the nuclear energy sector, I would like to emphasize that the US has not built and is not building a single small modular reactor abroad," the deputy secretary of the Russian Security Council told reporters.

According to him, "In France, which is also often mentioned as a potential partner [of Armenia], not a single reactor has been built; the French do not have the technology of small modular reactors. And during the 17-year construction [from 2005 to 2021] of the third power unit in Olkiluoto, Finland, its cost has increased almost four times, from 3.2 billion euros to 11.7 billion.”

At the same time, Shevtsov stressed the advantages of cooperation with Russian nuclear scientists: “[Russian state corporation] Rosatom is currently building 30 power units abroad, including small modular reactors,” he said.

“The choice, as they say, is obvious,” added the deputy secretary of the Russian Security Council.

Also, he drew attention to the discussions, in the information field of Armenia, on the construction of a new nuclear power plant in the country.

"Regarding this matter, I would like to note that the Armenian Nuclear Power Plant—where the reliable, still Soviet, VVER-440 reactor is operating without interruption—accounts for about 30 percent of the country's entire electricity production," Aleksey Shevtsov noted.