"Production of nuclear energy should be carried out in cooperation with Belarus or Russia – there is no other way," Romanov said in a comment published in the Vilniaus Diena daily on Friday.
The businessman, who founded a new political party earlier this year, says that the decisions made by Belarus and the Russian Kaliningrad region to build nuclear power plants of their own will make "the Lithuanian nuclear power plant simply uneconomical and out of competition."
"I believe the project is being pushed by criminals who do not fear God or devil," he said in comment of the Visaginas nuclear power plant.
Lithuania's government says the Visaginas NPP would increase the country's independence from Russian energy resources. After decommissioning Ignalina nuclear power plant in the end of 2009, Lithuania has been importing more than 60 percent of its electricity needs, mainly from Russia, which is the only supplier of natural gas to the Baltic state.
The Visaginas NPP project is supported by President Dalia Grybauskaitė, saying it could give a powerful economic stimulus to the entire region. Nevertheless, some opposition figures criticize the project, questioning its economic benefits.
The government expects Visaginas NPP to be operational by 2020-2022. Opposition parties have initiated a referendum on the matter in conjunction with the general elections in mid-October.
