Rosatom in agreement with Armenia on plans for coming years, awaiting decision on future of nuclear power in country

MOSCOW. May 27 (Interfax) - The Rosatom State Corporation is in agreement with Armenia regarding plans to extend the service life of the country's existing nuclear power plant and is awaiting a decision on future plans, Rosatom chief Alexei Likhachev told reporters.

"Regarding the immediate future, we understand this work well and are in agreement with the Armenian customer," he said.

He said that the parties were "reaping the benefits" of extending the nuclear power plant's life until 2026, and work had been completed and paperwork was being prepared for extending it until 2031.

"Technologically, we understand it could be extended until 2036 inclusive," he said.

Likhachev said that after 2036, "the question remains open," and the company had put various proposals on the table for Armenia.

"We're waiting for Armenia to reach a decision in the coming months on how to resolve the issue in the mid-2030s," Likhachev said, referring to the decommissioning of the existing nuclear power plant.

The Armenian NPP is one of the country's main sources of electricity. The station operates a single power unit, with a first generation VVER-440 reactor, and its fuel is supplied by Russia's TVEL corporation.

Rosatom gave Armenia a package of detailed proposals on the construction of a new nuclear power plant unit at the end of December.

The Armenian Metsamor Nuclear Power Plant's service life could be extended until 2046, with the construction of a new power unit currently under discussion with Russia, the United States, France, South Korea and China, Armenian Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan said in February.

The United States will invest $9 billion in Armenia's nuclear energy sector, U.S. Vice President JD Vance said in Yerevan on February 9.