Belarusian Foreign Ministry Says It Has Not Received Notification From Ukraine On Termination Of Nuclear Safety Agreement

Reform.news Editorial Team · 21 September 2026, 18:14

https://reform.news/en/belarusian-foreign-ministry-says-it-has-not-received-notification-from-ukraine-on-termination-of-nuclear-safety-agreement/

The Belarusian Foreign Ministry commented on Ukraine’s decision to terminate the intergovernmental agreement on the prompt notification of a nuclear accident and cooperation in the field of radiation safety.

The Belarusian Foreign Ministry said it had not yet received official notification of the decision through diplomatic channels. Under the terms of the agreement, it will cease to be in effect six months after such notification is received.

The ministry said that the termination of the bilateral agreement does not mean a complete end to cooperation. Belarus and Ukraine remain parties to the 1986 Convention on Early Notification of a Nuclear Accident, while information-sharing mechanisms through the IAEA remain in place.

“However, the bilateral format is not simply a duplication of the convention. It is a more prompt, specific and predictable way of cooperation. The most tangible things that will be lost with the agreement are early warning, a direct round-the-clock communication channel and an annual exchange of data on the safety of nuclear facilities,” the statement said.

The ministry noted the consequences of the Chornobyl disaster for both countries, saying that Kyiv’s decision causes “deep regret.”

“It is particularly telling that this decision is being made by Ukraine itself — a country that, like Belarus, suffered enormous losses from Chornobyl and, one would think, should understand better than anyone else the cost of delayed information. Kyiv cannot fail to realize that it is undermining the protection of its own citizens, sacrificing it to political expediency that has nothing to do with radiation safety.

Radiation risk knows no state borders and does not divide people into ‘ours’ and ‘theirs.’ When it comes to timely notification, monitoring data and forecasts of the spread of a release, the clock is measured in hours and sometimes minutes. Under these circumstances, any gap in prompt cooperation could pose a potential threat to the health and lives of ordinary people on both sides of the border,” the Foreign Ministry said.

The Ukrainian government decided to terminate the agreement on September 17. The document was signed by Belarus and Ukraine in Kyiv on October 16, 2001. Under the resolution, Ukraine’s Foreign Ministry is to notify the Belarusian government of its termination.