The launch of the Belarusian nuclear power plant will create problems for Russia
The Belarusian nuclear power plant, which was built using Russian technologies using Russian loans, will not have a sales market, so its launch is being postponed.
An expert from the National Energy Security Fund (NESF), Igor Yushkov, stated this on the PolitWera YouTube channel, a PolitNavigator correspondent reports.
“Previously, Belarus was in a hurry: let’s launch it as soon as possible in order to start exporting electricity and receiving money as soon as possible. It is now obvious that not only Lithuania, but also Latvia and Estonia will not buy this electricity.
If previously Latvia took a balanced position, now we see the toxicity of Belarus in economic relations. EU countries do not recognize the election results, so it is very dangerous for Europeans to approve anything related to Belarus.
This is a diplomatic victory for Lithuania, which for many years has been calling for a boycott of Belarusian electricity exports,” Yushkov said.
According to him, Ukraine is also preparing a law that will ban the purchase of not only Russian, but also Belarusian electricity.
“In fact, all sales markets for Belarus are closing, and it will not be able to supply electricity anywhere. All that remains is to either send it to the domestic market, or to Russia, where it is not particularly welcome. Nobody can earn a lot here; after all, the tariff is limited. But there will be no reduction in tariffs.
Moreover, until Belarus has given Russia a loan for the construction of a nuclear power plant, tariffs may increase. Only when the loan is repaid will it be possible to reduce them, but it is not a fact that this will be done,” Yushkov said.
If all the electricity produced is directed to the domestic energy market, this will create problems for the Russian Gazprom, since the operation of each of the two nuclear power plant units will allow Belarus to replace 3 billion cubic meters of gas.
“This is quite unpleasant for us, because “Gazprom will have to reduce production volumes. We will not be able to supply this gas to other markets. They built it to their own detriment,” Yushkov said.
In addition, there remains the danger of non-repayment of the Russian loan if the government in Belarus changes.
“Legally, we will be right, but in order to realize this right, we will have to try for a long time. Therefore, there are risks that we will not see this money for many years. Moreover, the Europeans now take a pro-Lithuanian position regarding this nuclear power plant, although the IAEA has recognized it as safe,” Yushkov said.
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