Alexey Likhachev, head of state nuclear corporation Rosatom, will visit Yerevan on Sept. 29. He announced the visit on SputnikLive, Sputnik Armenia reported.
The visit was agreed during a meeting between Armenian Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan and Russian President Vladimir Putin in Bishkek. The two countries’ leaders discussed in detail the construction of a new nuclear power plant. Likhachev said plans to deploy small modular reactors in Armenia could be reconsidered, with preference instead given to gigawatt-scale reactors. Discussions on the issue are planned in Armenia.
“The projected energy deficit in the republic could increase due to data processing centers, the use of AI systems and the development of the digital economy. We also see an optimistic forecast for energy consumption. But even if there is an energy surplus, there will be significant room for exports in the South Caucasus, and Russia is ready to provide support,” Likhachev said.
The Armenian Nuclear Power Plant supplies about one-third of the electricity generated in Armenia. The plant’s first power unit was commissioned in December 1976 and the second in January 1980. The Metsamor nuclear power plant was not damaged by the devastating earthquake of Dec. 7, 1988, but operations were halted two months later, in February 1989. The plant was restarted in 1995.
Under the original plan, the plant was due to cease operations in 2016, but with the participation of specialists from state corporation Rosatom, its operating life was extended until 2026. In December 2023, Rosatom Service and Armenian Nuclear Power Plant CJSC signed a framework agreement to implement comprehensive measures needed to extend the plant’s operating life until 2036.
In October 2025, Armenian Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan said negotiations on building a small modular reactor were underway with five potential partners: Russia, the U.S., China, South Korea and France. In February, a joint statement was signed in Yerevan with U.S. Vice President James David Vance on the completion of negotiations on an agreement between the Armenian and U.S. governments on cooperation in the peaceful use of nuclear energy.
Pashinyan subsequently said Armenia was seeking the most advantageous offer for the construction of a new nuclear power plant. At the same time, during his February visit to Yerevan, the U.S. vice president said the American side would invest $9 billion in Armenia’s nuclear energy sector and supply small modular reactors.
