Nuclear Plant at Heart of Rift Between Putin and Top Ally

Belarusian President Alexander Lukashenko has asked that Russia pays compensation for issues that arose with its nuclear power station, which was built by Russian state-owned firm Rosatom and funded by Moscow with a loan of $10 billion.

Lukashenko, a loyal ally of Russian President Vladimir Putin, announced that the construction of the nuclear facility near the city of Astravets in the western Grodno region was complete. However, he is asking Russia to return some money because construction of the plant was delayed and it was Moscow's fault.

Belarus, a former Soviet Union republic, has maintained strong relations with Russia since Putin launched a full-scale invasion of Ukraine. While Lukashenko's troops haven't directly joined the Ukraine conflict, Russian troops have been allowed to do exercises on Belarusian territory since before the beginning of the war. The country was used by Russia to launch its invasion of Ukraine on February 24, 2022.

Belarus' only nuclear power plant was supposed to begin operation in 2020, but the deadline was pushed back multiple times due to repairs.

"The commissioning timeframes of the nuclear power plant have slightly shifted because of the Russian side. Naturally, under the contract, we raised the issue of compensation to them. There is no need to hide it," Lukashenko was cited as saying by the BelTA Belarusian state news agency.

"There was nothing extraordinary there. But such questions were raised due to the fact that the deadlines for commissioning of the plant were violated, and the Russian side is responsible for it," Lukashenko added.

"The Russian side offered compensation options in response. They also offered us options on the price of fresh nuclear fuel, as for Russians, as for their stations. And a warranty period of five years [for the main components]," he said.

"We, of course, should not unnecessarily strain the Russians: we had enough electricity and still have enough, but an agreement is an agreement," Lukashenko said. He added that it is necessary to find out whether the concessions made by the Russians, in particular Rosatom, are sufficient for Belarus.

In May, the second of two units of the nuclear power plant was plugged into country's power grid, but wasn't fully operational at the time. In 2022, the facility produced less than half the planned output, Reuters reported.

Lukashenko has called for a truce in the full-scale invasion, urging in March that Ukraine and Russia begin talks without preconditions.

"We must stop now before an escalation begins. I'll take the risk of suggesting an end of hostilities... a declaration of a truce," Lukashenko said during an address to the nation at the time.

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