Photo: rosatom.ru
On April 27, Vladimir Putin and Recep Tayyip Erdogan are to have a telephone conversation. It is scheduled before the celebrations on the occasion of the delivery of Russian nuclear fuel to the No. 1 plant of the Akkuyu nuclear power plant.
The intergovernmental agreement between the Russian Federation and Turkey was signed on May 12, 2010. It was about cooperation in the field of construction and operation of nuclear power plants at the Akkuyu site in the Mersin province. On April 3, 2018, a solemn “first concrete” pouring ceremony took place.
Akkuyu is the country’s long-awaited first nuclear power plant. On April 27, 2023, commemorative medals were made for the festivities on the occasion of the delivery of the “first uranium”, which represent the four units of the nuclear power plant. The Presidents of Russia and Turkey will hold the ceremony online, and the whole world will follow this momentous event.
It is difficult to overestimate the importance of the nuclear power plant for Turkey, for its energy security, for new development opportunities, especially since the terrible earthquake of 2023 was a real tragedy for the country, has caused victims, terrible destruction and caused a severe blow to the economy.
Akkuyu, at the same time, is one of the main strengths of Erdogan’s election campaign. On May 14, presidential elections will be held in the country, and, it must be said, the current head of state risks not being re-elected. Moreover, practically on the finish line of the pre-election race, the current head of state had troublesome health problems. The 69-year-old head of state was forced to interrupt a live interview on the evening of April 25 due to a “stomach flu”. He had to cancel meetings scheduled for the next two days. The opposition leads an active campaign, using all information opportunities for agitation. One of Erdogan’s main rivals in the elections, Kemal Kilicdaroglu, 74, candidate of the National Alliance, which brings together six opposition parties, immediately wished the head of state “recovery”.
For Russia, the nuclear power plant in Turkey has both political and economic significance. Our state is building a huge strategic facility not just anywhere, but in a NATO country. And for the next 60-80 years (period of operation), the Russian Federation and Turkey will remain economically inextricably linked.
According to Rosatom State Corporation: “The project of Turkey’s first nuclear power plant includes four power units with the most modern Russian-designed VVER-1200 reactors with a total capacity of 4800 megawatts. This is a serial project of a nuclear power plant based on the Novovoronezh NPP-2 project (Russia, Voronezh region), the estimated service life of the Akkuyu nuclear power plant is 60 years. Rosatom is the only company in the world with skills across the entire technological chain of the nuclear fuel cycle, from the extraction of natural uranium to the last stage of the life cycle of nuclear facilities. Rosatom ranks first in the world in terms of order portfolio for the construction of nuclear power plants: 34 units in 11 countries are at different stages of completion.
And, finally, the solemn ceremony on the occasion of the delivery of Russian-made nuclear fuel to the No. 1 power unit of the Akkuyu nuclear power plant will surely overshadow the widespread joy in the world media that China has finally responded. to Zelenskyy’s numerous requests and finally “condescended” to a telephone conversation with him. And, if all of Kiev’s aspirations and talks are tied to coercion into war, then the event in Turkey will finally be a reminder of Russia’s peace initiatives, its willingness to cooperate, its desire not to destroy, but to build.
On May 14, Turkey will elect its president. Maybe Erdogan, maybe not. But Turkey has already chosen Russia as its economic partner in the field of nuclear energy for decades to come.
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