Energy minister calls on Ukraine not to buy Belarusian electricity

Barring market access to unsafe electricity from Belarus is key to stopping the construction of the Astravyets nuclear power plant's second unit, Lithuanian Energy Minister Dainius Kreivys has said at a joint meeting of the foreign affairs committees of the Lithuanian and Ukrainian parliaments.

The Astravyets plant has already experienced technical issues and interruptions that raise a serious concern and show that the facility highly unsafe, according to the minister.

"The Astravyets nuclear power plant is a geopolitical project and our common threat, so I am calling on our Ukrainian colleagues to show solidarity in stopping its further development," the Lithuanian parliamentary Committee on Foreign Affairs quoted him as saying in a press release on Thursday.

Ukraine resumed electricity imports from Russia and Belarus after the Ukrainian regulator's decision on the throughput capacity of power interconnections with the two countries expired on January 1, 2021.

Ukraine currently imports 5 percent of its electricity, mostly from Belarus, according to the press release.