Belarus President Alexander Lukashenko has appointed a new energy minister, saying there is "plenty of work ... particularly ... regarding our plans to build or not to build a new nuclear power plant".

Belarusian Energy Minister Viktor Karankevich and Hungarian Foreign Minister Peter Szijjarto have held talks and agreed on the next steps in cooperation over their nuclear energy plants.

The Belarus council of ministers has ratified protocol amendments which allow extension of the warranty period from those in the original 2011 intergovernmental agreement with Russia for the construction of the country's nuclear power plant.

A multipurpose nuclear research reactor is one of the possible results of a memorandum of understanding signed between Russia and Belarus to deepen cooperation in the peaceful uses of nuclear technology.

Belarus is considering building a second nuclear power plant, or a third unit at its existing one, and could become one of the leading countries in terms of the proportion of its energy being nuclear-generated, Energy Minister Viktor  Karankevich has said.

The second unit of the Belarusian nuclear power plant was put into commercial operation on 1 November. Together with the first unit the new nuclear power plant will provide about 40% of the country's electricity needs.

Russia's TVEL and the Belarusian Organisation for Radioactive Waste Management have entered into a long-term cooperation agreement covering the creation and development of infrastructure for the final isolation of radioactive waste in Belarus, as well as training personnel for the operation of a near-surface waste disposal facility.

The second unit of Belarus's first nuclear power plant has been connected to the power grid and delivered its first kilowatt-hours to the country's electricity system.

Hungary and Belarus have signed a memorandum of understanding on cooperation relating to the projects in both countries for new Russian VVER-1200 nuclear reactors.