Turkey would be “very close” to ending negotiations for the construction of a Chinese nuclear power plant at its European end. This was stated last week by the Turkish Minister of Energy, Alparslan Bayraktar.
Recently, a delegation from the Chinese state-owned company SPIC toured the proposed location for the four reactors, near the border with Bulgaria and Greece. In addition, Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi visited Turkey to settle some details. Not surprisingly, it would be the most important investment in the history of China in a project outside the borders.
Should it be carried out, it would be the third nuclear power plant on Turkish territory. And prospecting for a fourth is already starting.
In April, during the election campaign, President Recep Tayyip Erdogan falsely inaugurated the first, Akkuyu, built by the Russian public company Rosatom. His Russian counterpart, Vladimir Putin, accompanied him by video conference. However, this power plant will not come into service until next year. A second nuclear power plant, near Sinop, on the Black Sea, has been decided, despite the fact that a South Korean company and Rosatom itself are competing for the award, after the withdrawal of a Franco-Japanese consortium.
Turkey justifies its commitment to nuclear energy in its climate commitment for 2053, when it wants it to represent 29% of its energy mix. Despite this, their plans for nuclearization were already on the table fifteen years ago and are no stranger to the evolution of the neighborhood.
Despite the fact that only Israel has acquired a nuclear arsenal, it is permanently suspected that Iran wants to follow the same path.
Today, Pakistan is still the only Muslim-majority country in possession of the atomic bomb, and the dream or nightmare of an Arab bomb still seems distant. Despite the fact that the condition sine qua non, having nuclear reactors, is starting to become a reality.
Three years ago, the United Arab Emirates inaugurated the production of nuclear energy in the same month that it signed the recognition of Israel, with the Abraham Accords.
Saudi Arabia does not rule out following the same path, although, unlike the Emirates, it cannot afford to do so without concessions for the Palestinians.
This same week, the Saudi prime minister and crown prince, Muhammad bin Salman, when asked about this issue in New York, stated that “if Iran gets the bomb, so do we.” He also let slip that the establishment of diplomatic relations with Israel had never been so close. It is no secret that Saudi Arabia has advanced plans to build reactors. Preferably, he says, with the United States, despite the fact that he does not accept the inspection conditions that Washington imposed on Abu Dhabi and, meanwhile, flirts with Russia and China.
In the case of Egypt, the construction of Rosatom – which also works in Bangladesh – began a year ago.
In reality, the tension between Riyadh and Tehran has subsided with the reestablishment of diplomatic relations sponsored by Beijing.
Although Turkey signed up to the new silk routes – and a year ago inaugurated a Chinese thermal power plant in Adana that covers 3% of its needs – mistrust continues due to the presence of Uyghur Islamist exiles in Istanbul.
At a time of tension between China and the US, and confrontation between Russia and NATO, Erdogan’s Turkey – a member of the Alliance – is betting on a game of balance. Despite the fact that everyone knows – or fears – that projects of this nature require decades of good understanding. The Akkuyu plant will employ 4,000 workers, most of them Russian. And Turkey has sent 317 students to Russia to train in nuclear engineering. But it is China, with 56 reactors in operation and 24 under construction, that is leading the way.
