RF presid to visit Chernobyl NPP on 25th anniversary of disaster

MOSCOW (Itar-Tass) - Russian President Dmitry Medvedev on
the day of the 25th anniversary of the Chernobyl nuclear power plant
disaster will visit the NPP. Together with Ukrainian President Viktor
Yanukovich and the Patriarch of Moscow and All-Russia Kirill he will
participate there in events commemorating the victims of one of the worst
accidents in the nuclear power industry history, in particular, will visit
the St. Elijah Church of Chernobyl and the Star Wormwood Museum. Then, in
Kiev, Medvedev and Yanukovich will hold a working meeting.
"I will go to Chernobyl tomorrow, there will be a meeting with my
colleagues, and, of course, with those who took part in the accident
elimination efforts," the RF head of state said on Monday, handing out
awards to the liquidators of the disaster that happened a quarter of a
century ago, to which the authorities of that period, in his opinion, took
an irresponsible approach. "Perhaps the main lesson (of such tragedies) is
the need to tell people the truth, because the world is so fragile and we
are all so interconnected that any attempt to conceal the truth, not to
talk about something, to retouch the situation, make it more optimistic
than it really is, subsequently turns into tragedies in people's lives,"
he said.
"I am confident that the state will continue to behave responsibly
also with respect to the development of the nuclear power industry in our
country, and with regard to the fate of those people who in a very
difficult time did everything to save a huge amount of people and protect
the interests of our Fatherland," the president said. "The events of the
recent period have reminded humanity that it should not relax and that
making most important decisions it is necessary to take into account all
issues that may subsequently affect safety, of course I am referring to
the situation surrounding the Fukushima-1 Japanese nuclear power plant,"
he added. "At the same time we must not close the road to progress,
peaceful atom is the cheapest and generally the most environmentally clean
energy, but the standards that are used in this sphere should be the
highest," said Medvedev.
"The nuclear energy industry development issue, including in the
context of overcoming the consequences of the Chernobyl tragedy, the
provision of social and medical assistance to liquidators of the disaster,
raising the level of safety of nuclear power against the background of the
current developments at the Japanese Fukushima-1 NPP will be also in focus
at negotiations between Medvedev and Yanukovich," the Kremlin said.
"In addition, it is planned that the two heads of state will also
consider the most important issues of trade and economic cooperation,
including cooperation between the two countries in this sphere with taking
into account the creation of the Customs Union and the formation of the
legal framework of the Common Economic Space between Russia, Belarus and
Kazakhstan," the RF presidential administration stressed. The volume of
Russian-Ukrainian trade turnover last year practically reached the mark of
37 billion US dollars, and the parties hope for its further growth,
including by means of improving the industrial cooperation ties,
interaction in the development of innovative technologies.
"Medvedev and Yanukovich are expected to exchange views on the
implementation of a number of large-scale humanitarian projects aimed at
strengthening the atmosphere of mutual understanding and trust between the
peoples of Russia and Ukraine," the Kremlin said.