We see the interest of the Armenian side in continuing bilateral effective cooperation in the field of peaceful atomic energy. Maria Zakharova, Director of the Information and Press Department of the Russian Ministry of Foreign Affairs (MFA), stated this during a press briefing Friday.

“Our nuclear scientists have exchanged experience on a regular basis ever since the installation of the nuclear power plant [(NPP)] in Armenia. Currently, Rosatom [State Atomic Energy Corporation of Russia] is working with Armenian specialists to extend its operating life until 2026. New generation issues are also being discussed, we understand that partners want to approach this issue thoroughly, to assess all possible options,” added Zakharova.

“The Rosatom leadership is in regular contact with the Armenian government. Russia is ready for different scenarios, and we have the whole range—from modular reactors to a new large modern plant. Russia, unlike, for example, what is advertised in the United States, relies on tried and tested developments,” Zakharova noted.

Also, she pointed to the attempts of ill-wishers from Western countries to discredit Russian-Armenian cooperation in the nuclear sphere—and based on unfounded allegations that the nuclear power plant of Armenia may soon be out of service.

“The media wrote that the plant allegedly poses a threat. Let me remind that the NPP was built specifically for Armenia, taking into account the seismological and climatic features of the republic, and the safety of the plant has been repeatedly confirmed by the IAEA, including after the visit by a delegation led by the secretary general of the organization", Zakharova noted.

"Experts, including Armenians, understand perfectly well where the propaganda and lies of the West are, where the nuclear industry is experiencing difficult times, to put it mildly, and where there are real and reliable solutions that are happily applied all over the world," concluded the Russian MFA spox.