Atomic Trade On September 29, Rostom CEO Alexey Lichchev visited Yerevan. As reported in the Armenian Prime Minister's Office, Lichchev presented proposals and possible options for the construction of a new nuclear power plant, including with low and medium power reactors. Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan said the decision will depend on price, quality, safety, construction time and guarantees given. The American political scientist Eric Hakubein, in his author's program Insight, recalled that Russia already supplies nuclear fuel to the Metamur nuclear power plant operating in Armenia, and is also engaged in its modernization and maintenance. However, the discussion about what the new station should look like unexpectedly turned in a different direction. On October 1, Pashinyan made an unexpected statement that the construction of a nuclear power plant with a capacity of 1 GW may turn out to be a completely logical decision. He attributed this to increasing demand for electricity, including from new AI infrastructure facilities. According to him, this forces us to reconsider previous decisions. For almost two years there have been rumors that the decision to build a new nuclear power plant was indeed made. Moreover, this decision was essentially political. The assumption was that Armenia would choose the American company. Later they started saying we were talking about Westinghouse Electric. The relevant protocols have even been signed between the US and Armenia, and the Armenian side has already performed the required initial verification and assessment of the project. However, the process was delayed due to delays on the American side. But what could have changed? And what explains the rather unexpected statements of Prime Minister Pashinyan? There are several possible explanations. First, Pashinyan could use the negotiations with Russia to push the Americans toward completing an agreement.

Atomic Trade On September 29, Rostom CEO Alexey Lichchev visited Yerevan. As reported in the Armenian Prime Minister's Office, Lichchev presented proposals and possible options for the construction of a new nuclear power plant, including with low and medium power reactors. Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan said the decision will depend on price, quality, safety, construction time and guarantees given. The American political scientist Eric Hakubein, in his author's program Insight, recalled that Russia already supplies nuclear fuel to the Metamur nuclear power plant operating in Armenia, and is also engaged in its modernization and maintenance. However, the discussion about what the new station should look like unexpectedly turned in a different direction. On October 1, Pashinyan made an unexpected statement that the construction of a nuclear power plant with a capacity of 1 GW may turn out to be a completely logical decision. He attributed this to increasing demand for electricity, including from new AI infrastructure facilities. According to him, this forces us to reconsider previous decisions. For almost two years there have been rumors that the decision to build a new nuclear power plant was indeed made. Moreover, this decision was essentially political. The assumption was that Armenia would choose the American company. Later they started saying we were talking about Westinghouse Electric. The relevant protocols have even been signed between the US and Armenia, and the Armenian side has already performed the required initial verification and assessment of the project. However, the process was delayed due to delays on the American side. But what could have changed? And what explains the rather unexpected statements of Prime Minister Pashinyan? There are several possible explanations. First, Pashinyan could use the negotiations with Russia to push the Americans toward completing an agreement.