Armenia's Metsamor NPP - bomb waiting to explode, Azerbaijani MP says
By Trend
The Metsamor NPP in Armenia is a bomb that is waiting to explode, Azerbaijani MP Asim Mollazade said Oct. 11 during the autumn session of the PACE in Strasbourg (France).
"The Metsamor NPP is located in a seismic zone. This is actually a bomb waiting to explode. If another earthquake occurs in Armenia, it will lead to radioactive contamination in vast territories, including Europe," said the Azerbaijani MP.
He noted that the EU allocated specific budgetary resources to the Government of Armenia in order to solve the problem of the Metsamor NPP.
"The money has disappeared, and the nuclear power plant is still operating. The Ex-Prime Minister of Armenia Hrant Bagratyan said that this station provides an opportunity to create a "dirty bomb" and that they are ready to use this bomb against Azerbaijan," Mollazade said.
Construction of the Metsamor NPP started in 1970. After the devastating earthquake in Spitak city in 1988, the plant was shut down, but in 1995, despite international protests, the nuclear power plant’s operation was resumed, and moreover, the second reactor was launched.
Ecologists and scholars from the whole region think seismic activity in the area turns operation of the Metsamor NPP into an extremely dangerous undertaking, even in the case of the construction of a new-type reactor.
The autumn session of PACE began its work on October 8 in Strasbourg.
The Azerbaijani delegation headed by chairman of the parliamentary committee on international relations and inter-parliamentary ties, head of Azerbaijan’s permanent delegation to PACE Samad Seyidov takes part in the session to be held on October 8-12.
---
Follow us on Twitter @AzerNewsAz