Armenian Prime Minister Nikol Pashinian, announcing the imminent visit of Rosatom Director General Alexei Likhachev, said: “The nuclear power plant issue is not a geopolitical choice for us,” he said. “We need the best price-quality ratio. Whoever makes us the best offer, we’ll see us accept that offer.”
The Armenian government has not yet selected a foreign partner or technology for replacing the ageing Armenian NPP (ANPP) at Metsamor, Pashinian told a press briefing in Yerevan, adding that the choice would be driven by economic rather than geopolitical considerations.
The ANPP was built in the 1970s with two Soviet-supplied VVER-440-V230 units but was closed following a devastating earthquake in 1988. However, unit 2 was recommissioned with Russian help in 1995 following severe energy shortages. The plant meets roughly 30% of Armenia’s domestic electricity demand. In March 2014, the Armenian government decided to extend the plant’s service life to 2026.
Most of the overhaul (until 2019) was funded by an interstate loan from Russia. In December 2024, following a meeting of the Armenian-Russian intergovernmental commission it was decided to extend the life of the plant until 2036. The Armenian government allocated $65m for the implementation of the programme, which is being undertaken by Russian company Rusatom Service. To execute core modernisations the plant was taken completely offline for a major 153-day maintenance window starting in April. Armenian technicians and Rosatom specialists completed some 20 critical reliability and safety measures, safely reconnecting the unit to the grid on 1 September 1.
Pashinian said Armenia was not ruling out any option, including a Russian proposal for small modular reactors (SMRs). He said the government would consider a range of factors, including the price, payback period, construction time and financing arrangements. “We have never said that the Russian proposal cannot be the best offer, including in terms of modular reactors,” Pashinian said. He added that the government has committed to making a decision on the technology for a new nuclear plant by the end of 2027, noting that officials are also working to extend the operating life of the existing plant beyond 2036.
He was speaking in Yerevan two days after holding talks with Russian President Vladimir Putin on the sidelines of a Shanghai Cooperation Organisation summit in Bishkek, Kyrgyzstan. The two leaders discussed growing rifts in Armenian-Russian relations over Yerevan’s increasingly close ties with the West. No reference to Armenia’s nuclear power plant was made during the open portion of the talks.
The primary driver of tension was Armenia’s accelerating pivot toward the West and plans to join the European Union (EU). Putin warned that entering the EU would fundamentally conflict with Armenia’s long-standing membership of the Eurasian Economic Union and urged Pashinian to hold a referendum on the choice between the two organisations He noted that Russia remains Armenia’s primary economic partner accounting for roughly 30% of its trade and that an EU pivot would nullify the these trade benefits and market access.
Pashinian said in March that Armenia had decided to pursue SMR technology but had not specified which country or company would supply it, adding that Yerevan was assessing proposals from international partners. In February, Pashinian and US Vice President JD Vance held negotiations on a US-Armenian nuclear cooperation agreement. Vance said “American technology” would be coming to Armenia with potentially billions of dollars in US exports and long-term support related to a new nuclear plant.
Russian officials expressed their concern. Sergei Shoigu, the secretary of Russia’s Security Council, argued that the US does not yet have a functioning SMR plant and that the possible construction of such a facility in Armenia could pose an environmental threat to not only the South Caucasus country but also Russia. Pashinian subsequently downplayed the nuclear agreement with Washington, telling reporters that it will only give Armenia access to “complete information about the modular reactor technologies that the United States has”.
A preliminary feasibility study for the construction of a new 1200 MWe unit, developed by Rosatom, is already under review. Earlier, Rosatom First Deputy Director General Kirill Komarov said the corporation could offer Armenia nuclear reactors with capacities ranging from 50 to 1,000 MWe.
