Turkey is poised to enhance its nuclear cooperation with Russia in the construction of additional power plants, as President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan stated on Tuesday. This development signals a potential strengthening of ties with Russia, which may elicit concern among Western allies given Turkey’s increasing alignment with Moscow amid the ongoing conflict in Ukraine.
The Russian state corporation Rosatom is nearing the completion of the Akkuyu nuclear power station located on Turkey’s Mediterranean coast. Once operational, the plant’s four reactors are anticipated to contribute approximately 10% of Turkey’s electricity supply.
“The Akkuyu nuclear power plant holds significant importance in the context of Russia-Turkey relations. We are now in the final stages of this project,” President Erdoğan remarked during a one-on-one meeting with Russian President Vladimir Putin on the sidelines of the Shanghai Cooperation Organisation summit in Kyrgyzstan.
He further noted that Turkey and Russia intend to collaborate on developing additional power plants, in conjunction with the commissioning of the Akkuyu nuclear power plant, as reported by Turkey’s state-run Anadolu news agency.
Erdoğan also emphasised that bilateral relations between the two countries are at a higher level than ever before. President Putin acknowledged Turkey as “one of our privileged partners” in his remarks.
It is noteworthy that Turkey is highly dependent on energy imports, with approximately 70% of its energy needs fulfilled by foreign sources. United Nations international trade figures indicate that Turkey’s imports from Russia were valued at $42.37 billion in the previous year, with energy comprising $29.8 billion of this total.
This article used information from The Associated Press.
