“Our country has risen to the league of countries with nuclear energy after a delay of 60 years,” said Recep Tayip Erdogan at the inauguration of Akkuyu, the first nuclear power plant in Turkey’s history. The Islamist leader, who suffered from health problems that forced him to temporarily suspend campaign events, and Vladimir Putin took part via videoconference in the ceremony marking the arrival of the first shipment of fuel from Russia to this plant, which is “the largest joint investment”. made until Thursday by the governments of Ankara and Moscow, Erdogan said. The Russian state-owned company Rosatom is responsible for the construction and operation of this plant in Mersin, on the shores of the Mediterranean Sea. Akkuyu has been the subject of much criticism for its proximity to the North Anatolian fault line, the ecological impact it will have on sea temperatures and Erdogan’s rush to bring fuel to the election campaign when the facilities are not yet completed. “We are facing another example of populism. The main thing is to win votes at the expense of this inauguration and no one is considering the risk of having this fuel while the works are still going on. There is a total lack of transparency in everything around the plant,” says Pinar Demircan, coordinator of the Nukleersiz platform. Dozens of members of this anti-nuclear platform tried to reach Akkuyu by bus to protest, but the police blocked their way and several arrests were made Collaboration with Russia Unaware of criticism, Erdogan has argued that this is only the first step in a nuclear program that includes the construction of two other plants The Turkish president has stressed that when the plant becomes operational this will reduce natural gas imports and increase national income. Putin has stressed that it is difficult to speak of “success” without the role of a leader like Erdogan. Harmony between the two leaders is at the highest level. Andrei Likhachev, director of Rosatom, has stated that his plan is to “complete the launch of the plant next year to be able to produce electricity steadily from 2025”. Likhachev has described Akkuyu as “the largest nuclear power plant in the world” and expected it to be fully operational by 2028, when it is expected to produce ten percent of the country’s electricity consumption. The works are not easy for the Russians because of the sanctions they have imposed since the outbreak of the war in Ukraine. Sergei Butskikh, director of the factory, admitted during the inauguration that “logistics problems are because transport routes are getting longer and not all shipping companies can work with us”. Earthquake risk Two and a half months after the earthquake that devastated eastern Turkey, the country cannot forget what happened. Experts such as independent researcher Demircan warned that Akkuyu “rises 25 kilometers from the Ecemiş fault line” and that the epicenter of the last major earthquake, Kahramanmarash, is just over 200 kilometers away. From Rosatom, they confirmed that they felt the tremor, but said that it did not exceed the magnitude of 3 degrees on the Richter scale, they noted the “light” and did not cause any damage. Standard Related News As Istanbul Prepares for Major Earthquake Mikel Ayestaran City Council is speeding up inspections of buildings to check their seismic resistance to the expected quake of more than seven degrees « The plant must be stopped before it starts because of all the dangers it faces in the future can bring. In addition to earthquakes, it poses a threat to the Mediterranean Sea because it will further increase the temperature of the water,” says Demircan. This researcher also points to the strategic value of the place for Russia as “they will have their own port and this will give them an additional outlet to the Mediterranean Sea. It is the same tactic they used with the factory they built in Egypt The Turkish anti-nuclear platform Nukleersiz has started talks with the opposition to try to stop the country’s nuclear race in case of a change of government in the upcoming May 14 elections. With Erdogan, it is clear that Türkiye’s future is atomic.
Source: La Verdad
I am an experienced and passionate journalist with a strong track record in news website reporting. I specialize in technology coverage, breaking stories on the latest developments and trends from around the world. Working for Today Times Live has given me the opportunity to write thought-provoking pieces that have caught the attention of many readers.
