Moldova asks Ukraine to give explanations for the works on the Dniester from the Novodnestrovsk hydroelectric power plant.
The Minister of Environment of the Republic of Moldova, Iuliana Cantaragiu, complained after the recent publication of an investigation that proves with video and photo that Ukraine continues unhindered works on the Dniester for the development of the Novodnestrovsk energy complex near the border with Moldova, although such works. must be agreed with the Moldovan side, in accordance with the Espoo Environmental Convention on Transboundary Waters.
“A few days after the publication of the investigation, I wrote a letter to the responsible authorities in Ukraine, which I sent through diplomatic channels,” Minister Iuliana Cantaragiu told the portal Anticorupţie.md
She said that she had read the investigation and contacted specialists from the ministry to clarify what related to the journalists under investigation, as it was not very clear from the images what kind of excavations are being done in this area.
“Even if it were an accumulation basin, a depth of at least 7 meters is necessary “, says Minister Cantaragiu.
“Precisely in order to have the official position of Ukraine, a few days after the publication of the investigation, I sent an official letter, through diplomatic channels, requesting clarification, namely these works to be carried out in the border area of the Dniester River “, he said. she said.
Asked what she will do in this case, Iuliana Cantaragiu confirmed that those related to journalists in the investigative material will come true, she will address the Espoo Convention.
Ukraine is also a signatory to the 1999 Espoo Convention on Environmental Impact Assessment in a Transboundary Context, and the Dniester River is of strategic importance, supplying drinking water to over 70% of the population of the Republic of Moldova and over 90% of Chisinau. It also supplies drinking water to the Odessa region of southern Ukraine.
In turn, the head of diplomacy in Chisinau, Nicu Popescu, said in a recent interview for G4Media.ro that Moldova and Ukraine will ask the European Commission to conduct an independent audit of the environmental and economic effect of the hydropower plant that Kiev wants. to build the Dniester.
“We want to prepare a common address from the Republic of Moldova and Ukraine through which we invited the European Commission to make an environmental impact assessment and then to work with European partners to minimize environmental risks, “said Popescu.
What environmental activists say
G4Media.ro reported extensively on environmental issues created by extension works at the Novodnestrovsk hydropower plant and spoke with several environmental specialists on the subject.
The director of Eco-Tiras and the environmental activist, Ilia Trombițchi, declared for G4Media.ro that, at present, the Ukrainians are preparing to answer on the environmental regulation that they proposed to the Moldovan side.
“The authorities have nothing to communicate and prefer to remain silent in this context. The problem is complex and the Chisinau authorities prefer not to say anything on this subject. That is probably why the attention regarding the last journalistic investigation on the subject of the Dniester was somewhat small. And that was weird for me. Given that Ukraine does not need these 19 hectares owned by the Republic of Moldova near the Naslavcea dam, I see that the Republic of Moldova does not have any leverage in this case to put certain conditions on Kiev “, Trombitchi told us.
It all started with the new revelations of an investigation carried out by Balkan Investigative Reporting Network (BIRN) which presents a series of photos and videos of the Ukrainian work carried out on the Dniester shows that Ukrhydroenergo is currently working to widen the Dniester riverbed on its territory, on the segment between Novodnistrovsk and the Moldovan border.
All these expansion works are necessary for Ukrhydroenergo to complete the Dniester Pump Hydroelectric Power Plant, which will be the largest in Europe and the sixth in the world, writes the portal Anticorupție.md, partner of the investigation in the Republic of Moldova.
Photo: current image of the Ukrainian side of the Dniester, close to the border with the Republic of Moldova in the Naslavcea area. Source / Mădălin Necșuțu