DISINFO: Lithuanian opposition to the Belarusian NPP seeks to obtain benefits from regional militarisation
SUMMARY
Lithuania’s criticism of the Belarusian nuclear power is an attempt to demonstrate its anti-Russian and anti-Belarusian positions and to obtain benefits associated with regional militarisation. This is a provocation aimed to push Germany in that direction, despite its pragmatic relations with Russia. However, the Lithuanian authorities overestimated its bet on Washington and the impact of its agents in the EU.
RESPONSE
Recurring pro-Kremlin disinformation narrative about Russophobic Baltic states. Lithuania opposes the construction of the Astravets Nuclear power Plant (NPP) as the project does not comply with the international standards of environmental protection and nuclear safety, and is built on a site that was not duly justified over the alternative ones. On 7 June 2011, Lithuania lodged a complaint with the Implementing Committee of the Convention on Environmental Impact Assessment (the Espoo Convention) on the Astravets nuclear power plant case. The February 2019 draft decision of the Meeting of the Parties of the Espoo Convention acknowledged that Belarus had failed to comply with some Convention provisions and encouraged Belarus and Lithuania to continue bilateral expert consultations. On 5 May 2020, the Lithuanian parliament passed a resolution tasking the government to take even more active steps to ensure that electricity generated by Astravets NPP has no access to the Lithuanian market.
Earlier pro-Kremlin outlets published many other speculations alleging that Lithuania fights against the Belarusian NPP on the orders of Sweden and Finland or because it has been offended by the EU, that Lithuania's counteractions to the NPP are an attempt to disrupt Belarus-Russia cooperation, and that Lithuanian authorities criticise the Belarusian NPP to divert public attention from the catastrophic state of economy.