German Chancellor Angela Merkel (L) shakes hands with visiting Lithuanian Prime Minister Saulius Skvernelis after a joint press conference in Berlin, capital of Germany, on Feb. 23, 2017. (Xinhua/Shan Yuqi)
VILNIUS, Feb. 23 (Xinhua) -- Lithuanian and German prime ministers discussed the construction a Belarusian nuclear power plant at the Lithuanian border, the Lithuanian government said Thursday in a statement.
Lithuanian Prime Minister Saulius Skvernelis met German Chancellor Angela Merkel on Thursday during his visit to Germany.
According to the statement, important attention was paid to the Astravyets nuclear power plant in neighboring Belarus.
"The chancellor agreed with Skvernelis' position that the construction is an important issue not only to Lithuania and Belarus, but also to the whole European Union as well," it said.
Lithuanian officials have been campaigning against the Astravyets nuclear power plant, 50 km away from the capital city of Vilnius, claiming the project is unsafe.
The launch of the first unit of the Astravets nuclear power plant is scheduled for 2018 with the second reactor to be launched in 2019, according to Lithuanian media.
German Chancellor Angela Merkel (R) and visiting Lithuanian Prime Minister Saulius Skvernelis attend a joint press conference in Berlin, capital of Germany, on Feb. 23, 2017. (Xinhua/Shan Yuqi)
German Chancellor Angela Merkel (R) and visiting Lithuanian Prime Minister Saulius Skvernelis arrive for a joint press conference in Berlin, capital of Germany, on Feb. 23, 2017. (Xinhua/Shan Yuqi)
Visiting Lithuanian Prime Minister Saulius Skvernelis attends a joint press conference with German Chancellor Angela Merkel (not in picture) in Berlin, capital of Germany, on Feb. 23, 2017. (Xinhua/Shan Yuqi)
German Chancellor Angela Merkel attends a joint press conference with visiting Lithuanian Prime Minister Saulius Skvernelis (not in picture) in Berlin, capital of Germany, on Feb. 23, 2017. (Xinhua/Shan Yuqi)
