Russian President Vladimir Putin and his Turkish counterpart Recep Tayyip Erdogan on Wednesday jointly kicked off the construction of the third unit of the Akkuyu nuclear power plant (NPP) in Turkey.
During a ceremony held via video link, Putin said "The flagship project will not only bring bilateral cooperation in the energy sector to a qualitatively new level, but also contribute in general to the further promotion of the multifaceted Russian-Turkish partnership," he said.
The Akkuyu NPP in the Turkish province of Mersin is being constructed by Russia's state atomic energy corporation Rosatom in accordance with an intergovernmental agreement signed in 2010.
It is planned to commission four power units with a total capacity of 4,800 megawatts.
The construction of the fourth unit will begin next year, according to Erdogan.
Editor: Leon
