Gönül Tol, the director of the Turkey program at the Middle East Institute, has published an op-ed in the daily Financial Times in which he makes a clear appeal: “NATO must wake up to Russia’s nuclear deal with Türkiye”indica.
“If we ask NATO Secretary General which decision Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan most annoys him, he would probably say the purchase of Russia’s S-400 missile defense system. But NATO has an even bigger problem when it comes to ties between Turkey and Russia: Akkuyu Nuclear Power Plant“, he begins. And it is expected that in 2026, 10% of all of Türkiye’s electricity consumption comes from this nuclear power planta pharaonic construction financed by the Russian company Rosatomon Turkish soil, which was jointly started by Vladimir Putin and Erdogan himself, and which was inaugurated in 2023, in the midst of the invasion of Ukraine.
Erdogan, says the specialist, likes to call the facility “Turkey’s first nuclear power plant.” “In fact, belongs to Russia“He details for those who might forget. “In the standard engineering, procurement and construction model, the supplier designs and builds the reactor before handing over the keys. Akkuyu uses an industry-first build-own-operate (BOO) model. Russia retains majority ownership, but assumes all financial, operational and construction risks,” he explains.
The package “all inclusive” from Moscow covers “construction, operation and training of personnel, management of spent nuclear fuel and final dismantling, all very attractive for a newcomer to nuclear energy “like Türkiye,” he says sarcastically.
“BOO contracts are expensive for Moscow, so Russia has only implemented them in Akkuyu and is reluctant to use them again. But President Putin must have thought that the Benefits of owning strategic infrastructure in a NATO country outweigh the financial risks. He is probably right,” he argues.
“As someone who was born and raised just a few miles from the plant, I am deeply concerned“, declares the author of Erdogan’s War: A Strongman’s Struggle at Home and in Syria (Erdogan’s war: a strongman’s struggle at home and in Syria). “The lack of transparency around the process, the environmental risks and the Rosatom’s poor safety record I and millions of locals are concerned about this. Western countries may dismiss such concerns and even praise Turkey for its green transition, but Akkuyu is also a NATO problema long-term one,” he says.
The Akkuyu project was “hailed” by Erdogan as his plan to “reduce Turkey’s energy dependence, particularly on Russia.” But instead of doing that, “the BOO agreement ties Turkey and Russia together for the next century, through a expected operating cycle of 60 years and the subsequent decommissioning process“, he reveals.
Turkey’s opposition parties are against the project. For this very reason. To protect it, the president signed an intergovernmental agreement with Putin, “which makes it possible for the country to constitutionally impossible that a post-Erdogan government would challenge it.” A armor in full force. “That means that Russia, known for using energy as a geopolitical weapon, will have direct control over strategic infrastructure in a NATO country for 100 years, regardless of who is in power“, alert Tol.
“Russia, known for using energy as a geopolitical weapon, will have direct control over strategic infrastructure in a NATO country for 100 years, regardless of who is in power.”
But there is more, because the Akkuyu nuclear power plant “is near Incirlik airbasehome to NATO’s largest nuclear weapons storage facility and a hub to support Alliance missions.” And there’s also “very close to the NATO ballistic missile defense radar facility in Kürecik“.
“The BOO contract places the Russian personnel and assets near these NATO facilities. Turkey may build another radar to protect the plant. Military analysts and defense officials fear that since the Akkuyu nuclear power plant belongs to Russia, Moscow could demand to operate this radar and bring in troops to ensure security“, he says from the stands.
Yankı Bağcıoğlu, a retired rear admiral who is vice-chairman of the opposition Republican People’s Party (CHP) in charge of national defense, told him in one of his investigations that Erdogan “must not allow this to happen.”
West “has overlooked Russia’s use of nuclear energy is largely a means of creating long-term political, economic and military ties with strategically important countries. This is also the case with its relations with Iran and India.
“While Turkey was criticized and sanctioned for the purchase of the S-400, Western countries have remained silent on Akkuyu,” the analyst recalls. “But now Turkey wants to build a second nuclear reactor and Russia is ahead in the bidding”. “To deprive Moscow of a geopolitical asset and allay local environmental and security concerns, the West must do more to match Moscow’s favourable conditions“Pressing Western development banks to abandon their reluctance to finance nuclear energy projects would be a great start,” he concludes.
