Erdogan Announces Plans for Additional Russian-Backed Nuclear Power Plants

At a one-on-one meeting with Vladimir Putin on the sidelines of the Shanghai Cooperation Organization summit in Kyrgyzstan, President Recep Tayyip Erdogan announced that Turkey plans to expand its nuclear collaboration with Russia by building additional power plants. He highlighted that the Akkuyu nuclear power station, being finished by Russia’s state firm Rosatom, will soon provide roughly one-tenth of Turkey’s electricity.

Erdogan called the Akkuyu project a cornerstone of Russia-Turkey relations and said the two nations will take joint steps to open new plants. He also remarked that bilateral relations are now at a more advanced level than ever before. The move is likely to raise concerns among Western allies given Turkey’s dependence on energy imports, which amounted to $42.37 billion last year, with $29.8 billion in energy-related imports.