It has been four months since the end of the war, which marked Armenia's crushing defeat. Armenian former president Robert Kocharian has already announced that the restoration of the Armenian army's combat ability alone will require US$3 billion, let alone other costs. However, Yerevan is again making grandiose plans.
Armenian Minister of Infrastructure Suren Papikian said Armenia intends to build a new nuclear power plant. Yerevan certainly counts on Russia since Moscow currently assists the modernization of the existing Metsamor MPP, which accounts for nearly half of Armenia's electric power generation. Simultaneously, most hydroelectric power plants on the liberated Azerbaijani territories already do not supply power to Armenia. It has to be noted that the European Union also demands from Yerevan to shut down the Metsamor NPP as outdated.
Will Armenia be able to raise money for the construction of its new nuclear power plant? It is highly unlikely, since it will require billions of dollars in investment. Meanwhile, the Armenian Space Research and Astrophysics Center is bidding for participation in the NASA program on landing a human on the Moon. Former chief of the Armenian General Staff Onik Gasparian, like other Armenian chiefs of staff, promises that 'the Armenian army will recover from wounds and show its strength to the enemy.' However, no one says which resources they will use to restore the Armenian army.
Report informs, citing Caliber.az, that, according to an expert on Eurasia, Alexander Razuvaev, all these projects are unreal in economic terms.
"Let's consider the issue of refit. Theoretically, the funds will appear if the Armenian Diasporas in the United States, France, and Russia chip in together. However, hardly anyone will make any donations. Everything will be limited to words. And the rest will not have any economic basis. These are merely the versal statements to sugar-cover the bitterness of defeat at war and make themselves great in words."
- Nuclear power plant is a different point. The world is already talking about the threat of the Armenian nuke plant and urges to shut it down. Meanwhile, the construction of a new plant requires a lot of money. Will Russia make the investment?
- Let's compare with the Belarusian nuclear power plant. Its construction will take US$ 9 billion. These are huge funds, and they are comparable to the costs for the construction of a new power plant in Armenia. Russia will eventually compensate for this money in Belarus. But in Armenia, things are generally unclear. Rosatom is a state corporation, but it works on market principles; no one would waste money since the USSR times are left behind. So, nothing will go beyond talks about the construction of a new power plant in Armenia.