Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan signaled during talks with Russian President Vladimir Putin on the sidelines of a Shanghai Cooperation Organization (SCO) summit in Bishkek on Tuesday that Moscow would take part in Turkey’s nuclear expansion, saying the countries would pursue additional plants together once the Russian-built Akkuyu facility opens.
Erdoğan’s remarks came as Turkey considers proposals for nuclear power plants planned in the northern province of Sinop and the Thrace region in the northwest.
Putin described Turkey as one of Russia’s “privileged partners” and told Erdoğan that Akkuyu’s first reactor would begin operating this year, according to Turkey’s state-run Anadolu news agency.
The meeting at Kyrgyzstan’s Ala Archa state residence brought together Russian officials responsible for foreign policy, energy and nuclear cooperation, among them Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov and Rosatom Director General Alexey Likhachev, Russia’s state-run TASS news agency reported.
Akkuyu, Turkey’s first commercial nuclear power plant, is under construction in the Mediterranean province of Mersin in line with a 2010 agreement between Ankara and Moscow. The $20 billion project comprises four Russian-designed reactors with a combined capacity of 4.8 gigawatts and uses a build-own-operate model under which Russia’s state nuclear corporation Rosatom controls the project.
Construction has faced delays and financing problems amid Western sanctions imposed following Russia’s invasion of Ukraine. Russia provided Turkey with $9 billion in new financing in late 2025, while Ankara projected that the first reactor would begin generating electricity in 2026, Reuters reported.
Turkey plans to build eight more large reactors, four each in Sinop and Thrace, as part of efforts to reduce its dependence on imported fossil fuels. Ankara has been negotiating with Russia, China, South Korea and Canada but has not selected a contractor for either project, Energy Minister Alparslan Bayraktar said in March.
Rosatom has discussed selling Turkish companies a stake of up to 49 percent in Akkuyu. About $2 billion intended for the project was frozen at JPMorgan because of sanctions-related restrictions, Reuters reported in April.
Ukraine and Black Sea produce no public outcome
Putin’s foreign policy adviser, Yuri Ushakov, said before the bilateral that the leaders would discuss Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, Black Sea security and trade.
The public portion centered on nuclear energy, commerce, agriculture and Russian tourism in Turkey. Neither government immediately released a detailed account of the closed talks or announced an agreement concerning Ukraine or the Black Sea.
The talks came a day after Foreign Minister Hakan Fidan disclosed that Turkey had prepared a plan for safe grain shipments through the Black Sea and was consulting Russia and Ukraine.
Ankara is seeking a framework modeled on the United Nations-backed agreement brokered by Turkey in 2022. The deal enabled the export of around 33 million metric tons of Ukrainian agricultural products before Russia withdrew in 2023.
Maritime security has gained urgency for Ankara following attacks on Turkish-linked vessels. Turkey summoned Ukraine’s ambassador after the Turkish container ship Lider Bordo Mavi and the towboat Lider Kocatepe were targeted near Russia’s Black Sea coast in late August.
Turkey has maintained ties with Moscow and Kyiv since Russia invaded Ukraine in February 2022. Ankara has supplied weapons to Ukraine and supports its territorial integrity but has declined to join Western sanctions against Russia.
Erdoğan promotes China-Europe transport route
During the same summit, Erdoğan called for closer coordination between Turkey’s Trans-Caspian Middle Corridor and China’s Belt and Road Initiative.
The Turkish president described the SCO as part of an emerging multipolar system, noting that its countries represent around 3.5 billion people and $35 trillion in gross domestic product.
He argued that Turkey could help SCO countries reach Western markets by expanding transport links, diversifying energy corridors and managing geopolitical risks.
The Middle Corridor connects China and Central Asia with Europe through the Caspian Sea, Azerbaijan, Georgia and Turkey, offering an alternative to northern routes passing through Russia, according to Turkey’s foreign ministry.
Investment and coordination could triple trade along the route and cut transit times by half by 2030, the World Bank estimates.
Erdoğan also met separately with Azerbaijani President Ilham Aliyev and Kyrgyz President Sadyr Japarov. His talks with Aliyev covered energy, infrastructure, transportation and the peace process between Azerbaijan and Armenia, according to Anadolu.
Turkey has been an SCO dialogue partner since 2012 but is not a full member. Pakistan will assume the organization’s rotating chairmanship from Kyrgyzstan.
Turkish Minute