Turkey again demands shutting down Armenian nuke plant
The Metsamor-based nuclear power plant must immediately halt its operation since it threatens the whole region, said Turkey's Transport Minister Taner Yildiz.
"There are 25 NPPs in the world which have been operating for 40 years. They must all be shut down," the Turkish minister was quoted as saying.
Serious regional concerns over the safety of Armenia's aging Metsamor Nuclear Power Plant began to mount in Azerbaijan and Turkey as radioactive fallout of Japan's Fukushima meltdown spread. The recent Fukushima nuclear disaster has simply magnified the security and environmental concerns of regional actors.
The Azerbaijani government also continues to voice safety concerns over the Metsamor nuclear plant and wants solid assurances from Armenia that the plant does not constitute a danger for any state in the region.
At a Vienna-hosted meeting of the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) held in late September experts refuted Azerbaijan's suspicions over Armenian nuclear power plant's insecurity.
