Global Courant 2023-04-27 20:39:26
The two leaders spoke ahead of the inauguration of the Akkuyu plant, Turkey’s first nuclear reactor.
Russian President Vladimir Putin and Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan spoke by phone, their offices said, before the two countries marked the inauguration of Turkey’s first nuclear reactor.
The Akkuyu nuclear power plant in Turkey’s southern Mersin province was built by Russia’s state-owned nuclear energy company Rosatom.
Erdogan thanked Putin during their call on Thursday for his help with 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. He said the two countries were working on an initiative by Erdogan to send flour made from Russian grain to countries in need.
Both presidents virtually participated in a ceremony marking the loading of nuclear fuel into the first power plant in Akkuyu.
The $20 billion, 4,800 megawatt project to build four reactors in the Mediterranean city of Akkuyu will enable Turkey to join the small club of nations with civilian nuclear power.
“We plan to complete the physical launch (of the plant) next year… to be able to produce electricity on a stable basis from 2025, as we agreed,” said Andrei Likhachev, head of Rosatom.
Turkey hopes the plant, described by Likhachev as the “largest nuclear construction site in the world”, will reduce its dependence on imported hydrocarbons for energy.
Sanction ‘problems’
Construction of the Akkuyu plant was hampered by sanctions imposed by the West on Russia over its invasion of Ukraine.
“Yes, we have certain logistical problems,” Sergei Butskikh, director of the Akkuyu plant, told reporters on the eve of the launch.
“Transport routes are getting longer. Not all shipping companies can work with us. So here yes, we feel the sanctions,” he added.
“But this has not affected the quality of the plant’s construction.”
Erdogan has been one of the few world leaders to maintain good relations with Putin, refusing to sign Western sanctions against Russia and attempting to mediate to end the war.
Erdogan attended Thursday’s ceremony via video link rather than traveling to the venue due to a health issue that forced him to cancel campaign rallies this week. Turkish Health Minister Fahrettin Koca said the president is now feeling better.
Turkey faces important presidential and parliamentary elections on May 14.
(TagsToTranslate)News
