The sanctions aunched by Moscow against Turkey after the Turkish Air Forces shot down a Russian Su-24 over Syrian territory has influenced imports of Turkish goods to Russia, the construction activities of Turkish companies and tourism. Russia also declared a freezing of the Turkish Stream project, but another major energy project of Ankara and Moscow – the Akkuyu Nuclear Power Plant – may be implemented.
“Our President spoke most clearly about Turkey on December 18th at a press conference. He was directly asked: "Will the Akkuyu project be continued or not?" He said that this is a purely commercial matter, and we do not take any steps that would harm our economic interests. Akkuyu is not in the presidential decree or the decree of the Russian Government ‘On the application of sanctions against Turkey’,” Mikhail Lysenko, advisor to the Center for Energy and Security, Director of the International Cooperation Department of the SC ‘Rosatom’ (2008-2014), noted.
"There are various statements by representatives of the Ministry of Energy of Turkey and the representatives of the Russian company that is constructing the station, that work is being carried out at the site according to the plan. “A lot has been done. A license for the area was issued. Earthworks have begun already, the report ‘On the environmental impact’ has been approved, a three-year provisional license for the generation of energy has been issued, a contract for the construction of the marine hydraulic structures has been signed. Now the main task is to get the proper license for the construction of the nuclear power plant. There are a number of purely legal and practical problems that lie in the imperfections of Turkish legislation,” Lysenko stated.
He mentions the laws that one cannot build anything at a distance closer than a hundred meters from the sea and within a radius of 3 km from olive groves. “The Akkuyu project does not fit into these requirements, so it is necessary for the Turkish side to make changes to the laws ‘On the seashore zone’ and ‘On increasing the yield of olive trees.’ There are still some legal cases that we will have to eliminate. This is a somewhat lengthy process.”
