Turkish Energy Minister Alparslan Bayraktar said that Russia is interested in participating in the project for the second nuclear power plant in Turkey, but right now it is important for Ankara to put the first reactor of the “Akkuyu“ nuclear power plant into operation.
“Russia is interested in the project for the second nuclear power plant, which is planned to be built in Sinop, and is working on this issue. But now our main goal is to put the first reactor in “Akkuyu“ into operation as soon as possible. We have held talks with “Rosatom“ on this issue,“ the TRT television channel quoted the minister as saying.
He said he had held meetings with Russian Deputy Prime Minister Alexander Novak and Russian Energy Minister Sergei Tsivilev. "We discussed our current cooperation and trade. But we also talked about how we can increase the volumes. We discussed issues that will contribute to the further development of our cooperation in the energy sector and assessed new opportunities for cooperation", Bayraktar said.
The Turkish minister noted that Turkey is a very large market for natural gas and is able to help countries in the region with the issue of security of supply. "In 2026, it will be 40 years since Russia has been supplying natural gas to Turkey. This is an important milestone for us. During the visit, along with the development of our cooperation in the field of natural gas, we also discussed supplies to Turkey on more favorable terms, as well as a natural gas trading center that we plan to establish in Turkey“, the minister said.
Bayraktar added that Turkey is the fourth largest consumer of natural gas in Europe, and Russia is an important supplier. The republic itself, he said, “is working to increase the capacity [of gas routes] with neighboring countries and Turkey has serious opportunities in this area.“
The Akkuyu Nuclear Power Plant is the first nuclear power plant in Turkey to be built by the Russian state corporation “Rosatom”. The Akkuyu project includes four power units with Russian VVER III+ reactors. The capacity of each will be 1,200 MW. According to the terms of the intergovernmental agreement, the first power unit of the nuclear power plant must be put into operation within seven years after receiving all permits. Considering that the license for the construction of the first power unit was received in 2018, this deadline falls on 2025.