Turkiye President Tayyip Erdogan said on Wednesday that his Russian counterpart, Vladimir Putin, may visit Turkiye on April 27 to inaugurate the country’s first nuclear power reactor built by Rosatom, Russia’s state nuclear energy company. Reuters reports.
“Maybe there is a chance that Mr. Putin will come on April 27, or we could connect with the inauguration ceremony online and take the first step in Akkuyu,” Erdogan said in televised remarks on a private broadcaster, ATV.
Turkiye will load the first nuclear fuel into the first power unit of the Akkuyu nuclear power plant and officially give it the status of a nuclear facility on April 27, Erdogan said in an announcement earlier on Wednesday.
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The Kremlin, on Monday, denied Turkish reports that Putin was planning to visit Turkey.
The Kremlin said on Saturday that Putin and Erdogan discussed during a phone call the successful implementation of joint strategic projects in the energy sector, including the construction of the Akkuyu nuclear power plant.
With the $20 billion, 4,800 megawatt (MW) project to build four reactors in the Mediterranean town of Akkuyu, Turkey will be able to join the small club of nations with civilian nuclear energy.
Turkiye previously announced plans to launch the first reactor at Akkuyu in 2023.
Earlier this month, the International Criminal Court (ICC) issued an arrest warrant for Putin for alleged war crimes in Ukraine, prompting outrage from the Kremlin. But Turkey is not a party to the Rome Statute, which created the ICC.
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