BUDAPEST, December 4. /TASS/. The West’s attempts to prevent the construction of the Paks-2 nuclear power plant in Hungary are unfair competition with the use of a political component aimed against Russia, Russian Ambassador to Hungary Evgeny Stanislavov said in conversation with TASS.

When asked if Western sanctions threaten the construction of two new power units at Paks and whether construction will be completed, he said that "the Paks-2 is rightfully considered a flagship project" in relations between the two countries.

As for attempts to prevent its implementation, they are not a surprise for the Russian side, the diplomat noted.

"Rosatom has faced them for many years. They are based on a long-standing desire to fight a competitor that has the most advanced and safe technologies in the field of peaceful nuclear energy."

"In recent years, they want to include a political, anti-Russian component in the arsenal of unfair measures to restrain their competitor," Stanislavov went on.

"Russia understands this very well and plans its actions taking this into account. Our Hungarian colleagues also understand this well, and confirm their interest in the systematic implementation of the project in accordance with all existing agreements in this regard," the diplomat said.

About Paks NPP

The Paks NPP, which was built with Soviet technologies, and which uses Russian nuclear fuel, provides half of all generated and one third of consumed electricity in Hungary. At present, four power units with VVER-440 reactors operate at the station built about 100 kilometers south of Budapest on the banks of the Danube. Currently, preparations are underway for the construction of two new power units designed by Rosatom. At the same time, preparations are underway for the construction of facilities as part of the second stage of the Rosatom project. Specifically, those new units are called Paks-2. The Hungarian government expects that after two new VVER-1200 nuclear reactors are commissioned, the plant's capacity will increase from its current levels of 2,000 MW to 4,400 MW.

On November 14, head of the Rosatom state corporation, Alexey Likhachev met with Minister of Foreign Affairs and External Economic Relations of Hungary, Peter Szijjarto.

As Stanislavov noted, "it is important that the meeting took place at the site of the future power units, where they were able to assess the scope and volume of work performed after the general license was received in 2022 and in August of this year the project had entered the stage of direct construction of the plant." Also, during the meeting, a schedule for the construction of power units of the Paks-2 NPP for the coming years was determined. The project participants believe that there is a real opportunity to put them into operation in the early 2030s.