Baku, Azerbaijan, April 3
By Rufiz Hafizoglu – Trend:
Russian President Vladimir Putin has paid his first foreign visit after the re-election to Turkey, which proves the importance of the Moscow - Ankara relations. Although the leaders of the two countries will today mainly discuss the bilateral ties, the fate of Syria mainly depends on the future of the Russia - Turkey relations.
Just an hour later Vladimir Putin's arrival in Ankara, a foundation of the Akkuyu Nuclear Power plant was laid in Turkey.
The Akkuyu NPP is the first BOO (build-own-operate) nuclear power plant project in the world. According to this model, Russia will have the right to use the station's facilities.
Russia and Turkey signed an agreement on construction of the Akkuyu NPP in Ankara on May 12, 2010. The Akkuyu Nuclear JSC was registered in Turkey on Dec. 13, 2010.
The Akkuyu NPP project stipulates the construction of four power units with VVER-1200 reactors with total capacity of 4,800 MW. These reactor systems correspond to the highest, "post-Fukushima" safety standards. The capacity of each unit will be 1200 MW.
The project cost is estimated at $20 billion.
The construction of the Akkuyu NPP shows that despite a number of political disagreements between Moscow and Ankara over the Syrian issue, this is not an obstacle before the two countries to develop energy and economic relations.
But along with the construction of the Akkuyu NPP, there are other important issues on the agenda of the two leaders.
This is primarily the abolition of visas by Russia for Turkish citizens and increasing the trade turnover.
Secondly, this is a matter of settling the Syrian crisis and also the purchase of Russian S-400 missile systems.
One should not rule out that during the meeting, the two leaders will discuss the issue of construction of passenger aircraft for Turkey.