Turkey stands for the closure of the Metsamor Nuclear Power Plant in Armenia and conducts active work in this direction, Turkish Energy and Natural Resources Minister Taner Yildiz said in an interview with TRT Haber TV channel on Tuesday.

"Metsamor NPP and other nuclear power plants which have already expired their period of service pose a threat to the region and the entire world. Therefore, Turkey is taking the necessary steps to stop the operation of Metsamor NPP," Yildiz said.

Earlier, the minister said that Turkey will turn to the IAEA with the requirement to close the Metsamor NPP in Armenia.

Metsamor NPP was built in 1970. After the devastating Spitak earthquake the activity of this plant had been suspended, but in 1995, despite international protests, the work of the station was restarted and in addition, a second reactor was launched.

Given the great number of minor earthquakes in the past 10 years in this zone, as well as the intensification of seismic processes indicated by seismologist researches, in the case of a big accident in Metsamor NPP, not only Armenia, but also all countries in the Southern Caucasus and the Middle East would be seriously affected.

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