World News
Turkey’s Erdogan signals further nuclear energy projects with Russia
The announced expansion of energy ties comes as Russia's Rosatom nears the completion of Turkey's first nuclear power plant.
The short version
- Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan announced plans to expand nuclear energy cooperation with Russia to build additional power plants.
- The announcement was made alongside Russian President Vladimir Putin during a bilateral meeting at the Shanghai Cooperation Organization summit in Kyrgyzstan.
- The deepening partnership comes as Russian state corporation Rosatom nears the completion of the Akkuyu nuclear power station on Turkey's Mediterranean coast.
Key facts
- President Erdogan stated that Turkey and Russia will take joint steps to develop new nuclear power plants beyond the current Akkuyu project.[Associated Press]
- Russian state corporation Rosatom is currently finishing construction on the Akkuyu nuclear power plant, which is designed to eventually generate about 10% of Turkey's electricity.[Associated Press]
- Turkey is heavily reliant on foreign energy, importing approximately 70% of its energy requirements.[Associated Press]
- According to United Nations trade figures, Turkey imported $42.37 billion from Russia last year, with energy accounting for $29.8 billion of that total.[Associated Press]
What remains uncertain
- The timeline and specific locations for the proposed new nuclear power plants have not yet been detailed.[Associated Press]
Sources
- Turkey’s Erdogan signals further nuclear projects with RussiaAssociated Press