MOGILEV, 23 September (BelTA) – The emergencies ministries of Belarus and Russia will stage joint exercises in 2017, BelTA learned from Belarusian Emergencies Minister Vladimir Vashchenko on 23 September. Vladimir Vashchenko summed up results of the joint session of the boards of the Belarusian Emergencies Ministry, the Interior Ministry of Kazakhstan, and the Russian Federation Ministry for Civil Defense, Emergencies, and Elimination of Consequences of Natural Calamities that took place in Mogilev on 23 September.
Vladimir Vashchenko said: “An exercise is the most effective way to train our specialists to respond to any situations. The exercises will be held in Russia.”
In his words, participants of the session paid special attention to the protection of nuclear energy installations from emergencies. “There are many speculations surrounding the construction of the Belarusian nuclear power plant now. Our task is to make its construction and operation safe,” stressed the Minister.
According to Russian Deputy Minister for Civil Defense, Emergencies, and Elimination of Consequences of Natural Calamities Vladimir Artamonov, the most important matters discussed during the session were ways to ensure the security of nuclear power plants, the certification of emergency response teams for compliance with UN methods, emergency prediction and prevention.
In turn, Deputy Interior Minister of Kazakhstan Yuri Ilyin noted that Kazakh specialists are considering the possibility of taking part in joint exercises for the sake of accumulating experience. “Responding to transboundary emergencies is an important matter for us,” he explained.
Participants of the session looked into the experience of responding to emergencies that tend to happen in winter and the technologies designed for monitoring and forecasting. Ways to use canine units and rescue teams in responding to emergencies that involve the destruction of buildings and structures were discussed.
Participants of the session decided to hold the next joint session of the ministries of Belarus, Russia, and Kazakhstan in Astana in 2017.
The joint session began with a minute of silence in memory of the firefighters, who fell on the line of duty in Moscow. Participants of the event extended their condolence to friends and families of the dead and to members of the Russian delegation.
