The Armenian Nuclear Power Plant can continue operating regardless of the natural gas supply situation. This opinion was expressed by former Armenian Deputy Prime Minister Vache Gabrielyan on the "Daser" program of 168.am. According to him, Russia views cooperation in nuclear energy primarily as a commercial direction, which is less dependent on foreign policy factors than gas supplies.
Gabrielyan noted that if the previously discussed option with small modular reactors is rejected, Armenia could consider building a more powerful nuclear power plant. He named the VVER-1000 type reactor as one possible solution. This option implies a different format of cooperation with Russia, but the specific parameters of a possible project have not yet been determined.
At the same time, Gabrielyan emphasized that this is not about a decision to build a plant with a VVER-1000 reactor. This is just one of the options for the further development of Armenia's nuclear energy. The choice of technology and cooperation model will depend on the decisions the country makes as part of preparing the new NPP project.