Putin, Erdogan launch Turkey's first nuclear reactor

The leaders of Russia and Turkey on Tuesday launched the start of construction for Turkey's first nuclear power plant, as ties between the two nations deepen.

Russian President Vladimir Putin, on his first foreign visit since being re-elected on March 18, and Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan remotely gave the go-ahead for the construction of the Russian-built nuclear plant on the Mediterranean coast at Akkuyu.

During Tuesday's ceremony, Erdogan said the first reactor at the Akkuyu nuclear power plant would become operational in 2023 and when all of the plant's reactors were activated it would meet 10 percent of Turkey's energy needs.

"Thus we will have made our energy basket — still largely reliant on petroleum, natural gas and coal — more robust," he added.

The Akkuyu plant is being built by Russias nuclear energy agency, Rosatom. The...