Putin hails opening of Russian-built nuclear plant in Turkey and praises Erdogan
- President Vladimir Putin and President Tayyip Erdogan marked the building of the Akkuyu nuclear power plant by Russia’s Rosatom
- The Russian leader also heaped praise on the Turkish president and his leadership ahead of a key election in the Nato country
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Russian President Vladimir Putin and Turkey’s President Tayyip Erdogan held talks by telephone on Thursday, their offices said, before the two countries marked the inauguration of Turkey’s first nuclear power reactor.
The Akkuyu nuclear power plant in Turkey’s southern Mersin province has been built by Russia’s state nuclear energy company Rosatom.
Erdogan thanked Putin during their call for his help on the power plant, the Turkish leader’s office said. They also discussed the Black Sea grain initiative and the situation in Ukraine, it said.
Putin said they agreed to deepen economic, trade and agricultural cooperation.
Both presidents took part virtually in a ceremony marking the loading of nuclear fuel into the first power unit at Akkuyu.
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The US$20 billion, 4,800 megawatt (MW) project to build four reactors in the Mediterranean town of Akkuyu will allow Turkey to join the small club of nations with civil nuclear energy.
“We plan to complete the physical launch [of the plant] next year … to be able to produce electricity on a steady basis from 2025, as we agreed,” said Andrei Likhachev, head of Rosatom.
Turkey hopes the plant, described by Likhachev currently as the “largest nuclear construction site on the planet”, will reduce its dependence on imported hydrocarbons for energy.
Erdogan joined Thursday’s ceremony by video link rather than travelling to the site due to a health issue that forced him to cancel campaign rallies this week. Turkish Health Minister Fahrettin Koca said the president was now feeling better.
Turkey faces landmark presidential and parliamentary elections on May 14.
-The Russian leader praised the Turkish president’s leadership ahead of a key election in the Nato country. Putin heaped praise on Erdogan, saying Moscow was ready to “extend the hand of friendship”.
The Russian leader said that the construction of the Akkuyu nuclear power plant, Turkey’s first, was a “convincing example of how much you, Mr. President Erdogan, are doing for your country, for the growth of its economy, for all Turkish citizens”.
“I want to say it straight: you know how to set ambitious goals and are confidently moving towards their implementation,” Putin added.
He stressed that Russia was one of the first countries to send rescue teams and medical personnel to Turkey in the aftermath of a devastating earthquake in February.
“We are always ready to extend the hand of friendship to our Turkish partners,” Putin added.
Putin, who has sought to strengthen ties with Erdogan amid a deepening confrontation with the West, said the Turkish leader had done a lot for bilateral ties.
“The president personally pays great attention to the expansion of Russian-Turkish relations,” he said.
“We certainly support this inclination and are convinced that close cooperation and partnership between Russia and Turkey are mutually beneficial.”
