Accident at Belarusian NPP has ruined Belarus’ image of reliable partner in Europe

The Belarusian authorities are liable for an attempt to cover up an incident at the Belarusian Nuclear Power Plant under construction. There are no grounds to doubt that they are fully in control of the NPP construction. The incident has revealed the usual approach of the Belarusian bureaucracy, when the authorities are attempting to avoid responsibility and shift it onto somebody else.

Only following pressure from the independent media and two weeks after an incident, the Belarusian authorities have confirmed an emergency at the reactor storage area at the NPP construction site. The Belarusian Energy Ministry said that Russian JSC Atommash informed the Ministry about the incident. Apparently, the Ministry attempted to avoid responsibility for the emergency and its consequences, by pretending not to know about the state of affairs at the construction site. That said, the NPP construction is a strategic project and a costly one.

In order to prevent abuses during the NPP construction, the project is under close supervision (direct and indirect) by the Belarusian special services, the law-enforcement and other Belarusian controlling bodies. The Belarusian authorities may be unable to assess the technological implications of the incident promptly due to the lack of special knowledge, but the mere fact of the fall of the reactor’s body could not go unnoticed.

Belarusian officials’ behaviour in the incident with the NPP reactor has disavowed Minsk’s attempts to create an image of a reliable and responsible partner on regional security issues. In order to recover reputational damage, the Belarusian authorities are likely to invite international organisations and specialists from other countries, except Lithuania, to investigate the incident. The Belarusian authorities regard Lithuania’s stance in this regard as non-constructive, aimed at blocking the Belarusian NPP construction by any means.