Putin may visit Türkiye to inaugurate country's first nuclear plant: Erdoğan

Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan said on Wednesday that "first step" will be taken on Akkuyu nuclear power plant on April 27 and that his Russian counterpart is going to take part in the auguration.

Erdoğan said Russian President Vladimir Putin will be attending in person or via online link to the inauguration of the country's first nuclear power plant.

"Mr. Putin may come to Turkey on April 27 for inauguration ceremony. Or we may attend the ceremony online," Erdoğan said in televised comments on private broadcaster ATV.

Erdoğan said the Akkuyu plant was one of Türkiye's "indispensable investments," adding that the facility would help the country "seriously store energy."

Akkuyu, currently under construction in Türkiye's southern Mersin province, will be the country's first nuclear power plant.

Akkuyu's first reactor is set to be operational in 2023, with the entire plant to be up and running by 2025. The project began with a 2010 intergovernmental agreement between Türkiye and Russia.

The plant, expected to have an installed capacity of 4,800 megawatts and four reactors, is set to begin producing power later this year.