Istanbul, March 15 (Interfax-Ukraine) – There are no alternative to nuclear power for Ukraine, as well as for many other countries, Ukrainian Prime Minister Mykola Azarov has said.
"I believe that there is no possible alternative to the use of nuclear energy, and only rich countries can afford to discuss the possibility of closing [nuclear power plants]," he told reporters in Istanbul on Monday during his official visit to Turkey.
He noted that the issue of modernization of nuclear power units was a topical one for Ukraine.
Azarov said about the plans to complete the construction of the third and fourth reactors at Khmelnytsky nuclear power plant and pointed out that all Ukrainian nuclear power plants are located in seismically safe areas. At the same time, speaking about the disaster at Chornobyl nuclear power plant, Azarov said that this was caused by human factors.
At present the operator of all four Ukrainian operating nuclear power plants is the state-run Energoatom nuclear power company, which operates 15 power units equipped with water-cooled reactors with a total generating capacity of 13.835 GW.
The 25th anniversary of the tragedy at the Chornobyl nuclear power plant will be marked on April 26.
