Putin cancels his visit to Turkey
Russian President Vladimir Putin decided not to go to Turkey for the opening ceremony of the Akkuyu nuclear power plant. According to the Kremlin news agency RIA Novosti, Putin will participate in the event via a video link.
Turkish president Tayyip Erdogan announced at the end of March that Putin was going to visit Turkey and take part in this event. As part of this visit, Putin and Erdogan planned to visit the areas affected by the earthquake and discuss the Russian-Turkish partnership in various fields.
A month ago, the International Criminal Court in The Hague issued an arrest warrant for Putin for his involvement in war crimes in Ukraine. Under this warrant Putin can be arrested in any of the 123 countries that have ratified the Rome Statute. Turkey has not ratified this document and does not recognize the jurisdiction of the court in The Hague.
The Akkuyu station was designed, built, and will be serviced by the Russian nuclear agency Rosatom. On April 27, the operator of the power plant, Akkuyu Nuclear, is to deliver nuclear fuel to the NPP site and load it in storage.