Agreement between Armenia and U.S. on developing energy cooperation  attempt to oust Rosatom - Russian expert 

ArmInfo. The agreement between Armenia and the United States on developing energy cooperation could  be seen as an attempt to displace the Russian state corporation Rosatom, which has been operating steadily in Armenia and providing high-quality services at competitive prices.

This was stated by political scientist and PhD candidate in economics Alexander Dudchak during a Yerevan-Moscow video conference, responding to US Vice President J.D. Vance's announcement that negotiations between Armenia and the United States on a civil nuclear energy agreement had  concluded.

In this regard, he recalled that 40% of Armenia's electricity is  generated at a nuclear power plant built during Soviet times.

Furthermore, he noted that the current US administration is known for  its maneuvering and bluffing. In this regard, he noted that  announcements of possible $9 billion investments could be used to  create a temporary impression, but real investments, he said, should  not be expected.

"This once again highlights the political component of what's  happening: the main thing is to declare that America is with Armenia.  Certain political circles will then exploit this for their own ends.  But you can declare it today, and then forget it tomorrow: they might  then say it's a crisis, what other $9 billion?  Ultimately, it's  disappointing to realize that an entire nation and state are becoming  mere pieces on a chessboard. But perhaps Armenia won't be turned into  the very board on which the game will be played," the political  scientist noted.

Dudchak expressed his belief that Armenia, in its pursuit of  rapprochement with the West and integration into Europe, could make  mistakes that would not improve living standards or develop the  country. Such a policy, according to the expert, would only turn the  country into a dependent territory. "I hope Armenia can avoid such a  scenario, but the threat is serious," the political scientist  concluded.

As a reminder, on February 9, following talks with Armenian Prime  Minister Nikol Pashinyan in Yerevan, US Vice President J.D. Vance  announced at a press conference that Armenia and the US had completed  negotiations on the "123" agreement in the field of civil nuclear  energy, with investments of approximately $9 billion expected. He  explained that the initial investment would be $5 billion, with a  further $4 billion expected in the second phase.

As a reminder, the possibility of constructing several small modular  nuclear reactors with a capacity of 50- 60 MW had previously been  discussed in Armenia. Moreover, the possibility of constructing them  in several regions of the country was even considered. However, one  of the most significant challenges in this area is the lack of  experience in operating these reactors on the part of Armenian  nuclear scientists. Earlier, Gera Sevikyan, Advisor to the Director  General of the Armenian Nuclear Power Plant, told ArmInfo that a  fundamental decision had been made to build a new unit in the country  using the Russian TOI reactor with a capacity of 1,200 MW. However,  as Gnel Sanosyan, Minister of Territorial Administration and  Infrastructure of the Republic of Armenia, subsequently noted,  constructing a unit of such capacity is fraught with problems, since  the capacity of Armenia's entire energy system remains the same:  1,200 MW.  Later, Armenian Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan announced  that the country had made a fundamental decision to build a modular  nuclear reactor. Moreover, according to Armenian authorities, the  country of manufacture for the modular nuclear power plant will be  determined in 2026-2027.