Turkish sources link key Russian company’s withdrawal from Turkey's nuclear project with NK conflict

 11:03, 1 November, 2020

YEREVAN, NOVEMBER 1, ARMENPRESS. A Russian company has withdrawn from plans to build Turkey’s first nuclear power plant following tensions between Moscow and Ankara over issues including the conflicts in Libya, Syria, and Nagorno Karabakh, Ahval news reports citing Dünya newspaper.

Turkey and Russia have stepped up economic cooperation in recent years, including the joint venture to develop Akkuyu Nuclear Power Plant in southern Turkey.

The landmark deal to build the 4.800-Megawatt facility was signed by Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan and his Russian counterpart Vladimir Putin 2010, but may now be in doubt as the two leaders find themselves at odds over a series of foreign policy questions.

Inter Rao, one of Russia’s largest public energy companies, withdrew from the project following a board meeting on Oct. 26, Kerim Ülker, a columnist at Dünya, said.

The move comes after Turkey’s military intervention to support Azerbaijan in the Nagorno Karabakh conflict.

Ülker said the significance of the decision came from the political connections of Inter Rao’s chairman Igor Sechin, who is Putin’s “de-facto assistant”.

“It is remarkable that Inter Rao, which is under the management of Igor Sechin, known as the second most powerful name in Russia, has withdrawn from the Akkuyu Nuclear Power Plant project. Especially in the immediate aftermath of Turkey's support for Azerbaijan in Nagorno Karabakh,” Ülker wrote.