Turkey, Russia to build nuclear plant

RUSSIA: President Dmitry Medvedev and Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan vowed Wednesday to press on with plans for Russia to build Turkey's first nuclear power plant despite the Japanese nuclear accident.

"The project in Turkey is different from the stations in Japan - in terms of age and the level of protection," Medvedev said after talks with the visiting Turkish prime minister.

"Even after what happened in Japan there will be no radical review of security measures as they are already sufficient." "I am sure this will be a good project and is very interesting from an economic point of view," Medvedev said. Russia and Turkey signed a $20 billion (14.3 billion euro) agreement last May for the construction of the first Turkish nuclear power plant in Akkuyu in the south of the country.

Russia is undertaking a review of its nuclear power operations after the Fukushima nuclear plant was damaged by Japan's earthquake but atomic energy is expected to remain a major industry for the country. Erdogan said that the Akkuyu nuclear power station that Russia will help build and operate "will be an example for the rest of the world."

"Earthquakes are possible everywhere and our country is on a seismically dangerous territory. But we understand the ways to secure the objects that we are building," he said.

"And this nuclear power station will be able to withstand a 8-9 earthquake. We cannot renounce joint projects because of earthquakes."Moscow, Thursday, AFP