Erdogan Signals New Nuclear Plants With Russia as Akkuyu Nears Completion

Turkey is set to deepen its nuclear energy partnership with Russia, with President Recep Tayyip Erdogan indicating that the two nations will collaborate on additional power plant projects. The announcement came during a meeting with Russian President Vladimir Putin on the sidelines of the Shanghai Cooperation Organization summit in Kyrgyzstan.

Erdogan highlighted that the Akkuyu nuclear power station, being built by Russian state corporation Rosatom on Turkey's Mediterranean coast, is in its final stages. Once fully operational, its four reactors are expected to supply roughly 10% of Turkey's electricity needs.

"The Akkuyu nuclear power plant is of great importance in Russia-Turkey relations. We are now in the final stages," Erdogan said, as reported by Turkey's state-run Anadolu agency. He added that the two countries "will take steps together to open some new power plants" alongside the launch of Akkuyu.

The Turkish leader described bilateral ties as being "at a much more advanced level today than in any previous period," while Putin referred to Turkey as "one of our privileged partners."

Turkey relies heavily on energy imports, with about 70% of its needs met by foreign sources. UN trade data shows Turkish imports from Russia were valued at $42.37 billion last year, with energy accounting for $29.8 billion of that total.

The deepening energy cooperation is likely to draw scrutiny from Western allies, who have expressed concern over Ankara's growing closeness to Moscow amid the ongoing war in Ukraine.