You're reading: Azarov: Ukraine to review its energy strategy, not to abandon nuclear energy

Ukraine will review its long-term energy strategy after the events in Japan, but it will not abandon the development of nuclear energy, Prime Minister Mykola Azarov has said.

"Of course, the energy strategy should be revised, at least because all countries will draw conclusions from the manmade disaster in Japan and respond to the risks that appeared," he said in an interview with Austrian newspaper Der Standard, the government’s press service reported.

"Anyway, we will seek a reasonable balance between the use of nuclear energy, which currently ensures half of the needs of economic development, and the ecological balance, which, of course, is an important component of the quality of life," Azarov said.

He said that the rules for the safety and operation of domestic nuclear power plants had been strengthened and strictly enforced.

Azarov said that Ukraine could not abandon the use of nuclear energy, because it did not have a sufficient amount of other safe sources of energy.

He said that this year, the country had substantially increased spending on energy saving and efficiency programs, as well as on the use of alternative energy sources.