Czech Republic excludes Rosatom energy company from nuclear tender over dispute with Russia
- Czech political parties agreed to exclude China earlier this year, but before the row with Russia
- The row is the biggest between Moscow and Prague since the end of Soviet domination of eastern Europe in 1989
The Czech government will not invite Russia’s nuclear energy company Rosatom to take part in security assessments before a planned tender for a new unit at the Dukovany nuclear power plant, Industry Minister Karel Havlicek said on Monday.
The decision, which effectively excludes Russia from the multibillion-dollar tender, was announced two days after Prague expelled 18 Russian embassy staff, saying it suspected Russian intelligence was involved in explosions at an ammunition depot in 2014.
Russia has dismissed the accusation as absurd.
Rosatom called the decision to exclude it regrettable and politically motivated.
“We regret this decision of the Czech authorities, because the Russian and Czech nuclear industries had serious prospects for the development of a mutually beneficial partnership, not only in the Czech Republic, but through joint work in third countries as well,” it said.
“The Russian offer envisioned the involvement of hundreds of Czech and European companies in the project of the Dukovany nuclear power plant expansion project, which could have included contracts worth billions of euros,” it continued.