Georgian ex-president warns Armenia’s nuclear plant unsafe
TBILISI – Former Georgian President Eduard Shevardnadze has called on the country’s government to immediately launch talks with Armenia on ensuring the safety of the neighboring South Caucasus republic’s obsolete Metsamor nuclear plant.
Shevardnadze said in a recent interview with Georgia’s Asaval Dasavali weekly that the data available about the facility is grounds for "serious concern".
"As you know, the situation at Metsamor is aggravating. There is absolutely no safety there and it poses a threat to the entire region."
He added that Tbilisi should therefore begin negotiating the issue with Yerevan to avert a potential catastrophe.
Metsamor is located 30 km west of the Armenian capital Yerevan, in a seismic zone. The plant, which has been in operation since 1976, generates about 40 percent of Armenia's electricity. Following a devastating earthquake that hit Spitak in 1988, the Armenian government decided to shut the facility, but in 1993 it had to re-launch it due to economic challenges.
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