Russian Media: US Made Bulgaria Drop N-Plant!

People with gas masks carry a poster with a nuclear symbol during a demonstration in Sofia, Bulgaria 19 March 2011.

Bulgaria's recent decision to quit the Belene Nuclear Power Plant project was made under US pressure, according to an article published in the Russian Nezavisimaya Gazeta.

The article has underlined the project's advantages, citing Bulgaria's increasing energy necessity, the low prices of nuclear energy and the decrease in greenhouse gas emissions, among others.

No technical or financial problems existed regarding the scrapped nuclear power plant project, the article has claimed.

Russia's state-owned Rosatom offered Bulgaria the most state-of-the-art nuclear power plant project , Nezavisimaya Gazeta says, pointing out that the AES 92 reactor has received a certification of compliance from the European Utility Requirements organization in 2007.

The article has further reminded that it was US Secretary of State Hillary Clinton that first congratulated Bulgaria on quitting Belene.

Nezavisimaya Gazeta has cited statements made by Bulgarian President Rosen Plevneliev that quitting Belene would decrease his country's energy dependence on Russia, commenting that the "Russian energy dependence" issue has become a "fetish" for many Western politicians, who have started reminding of the Cold War era's worst moments with such statements.

Last week, Bulgaria's government announced it has abandoned plans to build a new, 2000 megawatt nuclear power plant on the Danube River for which it has contracted Russian state firm Atomstroyexport.

The government proposed that a gas-powered plant is built on the site in Belene.

US Ambassador to Bulgaria James Warlick recently declared that the Balkan country's decision to scrap Belene has been completely independent.

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