The Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan said on Wednesday that his Russian counterpart Vladimir Putin may visit Türkiye on April 27 to inaugurate the country’s first nuclear power plant, which was being built by Russia’s state nuclear energy firm Rosatom.
“There may be a possibility that Mr. Putin will come on April 27, or we may contact the launch ceremony via the Internet and take the first step at Akkuyu nuclear station,” Erdogan said.
Erdogan announced earlier on Wednesday that Türkiye would load the first power unit at the Akkuyu nuclear plant with its first nuclear fuel and formally grant it nuclear facility status on April 27.
On Monday, the Kremlin denied Turkish reports that Putin planned to visit the country.
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.
The project, which costs $20 billion and has a capacity of 4,800 megawatts and includes the construction of four reactors in the Mediterranean city of Akkuyu, will allow Türkiye to join the few countries that possess civilian nuclear energy.
Ankara earlier announced plans to launch the first reactor at Akkuyu in 2023.
