Vice-Minister Valys at the IAEA Board of Governors expressed support for Ukraine, highlighted the problems of the Astravets NPPMultilateral Relations

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At the past week's IAEA Board of Governors Meeting in Vienna, the Vice-Minister of Foreign Affairs Taurimas Valys condemned Russia's aggression against Ukraine and the threat it posed to nuclear safety.

"As we mark the 40th anniversary of the Chernobyl disaster, we are witnessing Russia's irresponsible strikes on the nuclear power plant and its infrastructure. Russia's attack on a fuel reception building near the Chornobyl NPP is another reminder to the international community that we need to take active steps to stop Russian attacks on nuclear facilities in Ukraine," said the Vice-Minister.

During the meeting of the IAEA Board of Governors, a group of 48 delegations issued a Joint Statement on the Russian Attack against Ukraine's Centralized Spent Fuel Storage Facility.

During the meeting, Valys recalled Lithuania's unchanging position on the Belarusian NPP in Astravets: "The NPP in operation sustains unplanned shutdowns while at the same time it is being developed. We call for a halt to the operation and possible development of the NPP and urge addressing all safety concerns first."

Valys also participated in and spoke at the meeting of representatives of European Union member states with Anatolii Kutsevol, Deputy Minister of Energy of Ukraine for European Integration. The Foreign Vice-Minister noted that cross-sectoral cooperation and the sharing of Ukraine's experience bolsters Europe's energy security, calling for the use of the European Union's influence to stop Russian attacks on Ukraine's energy infrastructure.

The IAEA Board of Governors consists of 35 member states. Lithuania is a full voting member of the Board of Governors for the 2025-2027 term. This is the second time since Lithuania joined the IAEA in 1993 that our country has been elected to the Board of Governors.