President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan said Türkiye and Russia have brought their relations to an unprecedented level, highlighting deepening cooperation in energy, tourism and agriculture while signaling plans for new nuclear power projects after the Akkuyu plant becomes operational.
“Türkiye-Russia relations are truly at a much more advanced level today than at any previous period,” Erdoğan said during talks with Russian President Vladimir Putin on the sidelines of the Shanghai Cooperation Organization (SCO) summit in Bishkek, Kyrgyzstan.
Erdoğan pointed to the Akkuyu Nuclear Power Plant as one of the flagship projects underpinning bilateral cooperation, saying construction had entered its final stage.
“We are now waiting for the Akkuyu plant to be completed so that we can inaugurate it,” Erdoğan said. He added that Türkiye and Russia were preparing to take further steps toward additional nuclear power plants after Akkuyu begins operations.
Türkiye has previously explored plans for additional nuclear power capacity as part of efforts to diversify its energy mix, reduce dependence on imported fuels and strengthen long-term energy security.
Erdoğan also emphasized the importance of Russian visitors to Türkiye’s tourism industry, particularly in the Mediterranean resort hub of Antalya, where Russians remain among the largest groups of foreign tourists.
He said cooperation between Ankara and Moscow also remained strong in agriculture and energy.
Putin, for his part, described Türkiye as one of Russia’s “privileged partners” in both foreign policy and economic affairs and said major joint projects continued to move forward.
He expressed confidence that the first unit of the Akkuyu plant would be commissioned this year.
“You have set the goal of commissioning the plant’s first unit this year. This will happen,” Putin said.
The Russian president also highlighted growing people-to-people ties, noting that nearly 7 million Russian tourists visited Türkiye last year.
Foreign Minister Hakan Fidan and National Intelligence Organization (MIT) chief Ibrahim Kalın also attended the meeting.
