ERDOGAN OFFERS TO MEDIATE IN UKRAINE NUCLEAR PLANT STANDOFF

Sun 04 September 2022:

Turkey’s President Recep Tayyip Erdogan has offered to mediate in the dispute over a Russian-occupied nuclear power station in Ukraine, fueling fears of a nuclear disaster.

Saturday’s offer came just hours after the International Atomic Energy Agency announced that Ukraine’s Zaporizhzhia Nuclear Power Plant had been disconnected from its last remaining main power line to the grid and was now relying on a reserve line.

Amid growing alarm over shelling in the area of Europe’s largest nuclear plant in recent weeks, Ukraine said on Friday it had bombed a Russian base in the nearby town of Enerhodar, destroying three artillery systems as well as an ammunition depot.

Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan on Saturday told his Russian counterpart Vladimir Putin that, as in the grain agreement, Ankara could play a facilitating role on the Zaporizhzhia nuclear power plant in southern Ukraine as well.

In a phone call, Erdogan and Putin also exchanged views on the bilateral relations, and regional issues, particularly grain exports, Türkiye’s Communications Directorate said in a statement.

Türkiye, the UN, Russia, and Ukraine signed an agreement in Istanbul on July 22 to resume grain exports from three Ukrainian Black Sea ports, which paused after the Russia-Ukraine war that began in February.

Erdogan also expressed his condolences to Putin on the death of the last Soviet leader, Mikhail Gorbachev.

The leaders also reiterated their determination to proceed with the Akkuyu Nuclear Power Plant, currently under construction in the province of Mersin in southern Türkiye, according to the statement.

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

Erdogan and Putin agreed to discuss all bilateral issues at a meeting in Uzbekistan on the sidelines of Shanghai Cooperation Organization (SCO) Summit on Sept. 15-16.

SOURCE: INDEPENDENT PRESS AND NEWS AGENCIES

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