Turkey will have to share its secrets with Russia

There was only one good aspect of the diplomatic crisis between Russia and Turkey that erupted after the downing of a Russian war plane by Turkish jets on the Syrian border nearly a year ago: The possible suspension of the Akkuyu nuclear power plant project. 

However, with relations now back on track, the construction of the nuclear power plant near the Mediterranean city of Mersin will go ahead even faster, after being granted "strategic investment" status during a meeting of the two countries' leaders last August. This means that Russia will benefit from several incentives like tax exemptions. Akkuyu is a very prestigious project for Russia, as the facility will be built, owned and operated (BOO) by the state-owned company Rosatom, in a first for the global nuclear industry. Whether the project needed additional special incentives is a big question mark, but there are even more important question marks.  

Turkey has decided to have its first nuclear power plant on a never-before-used model, which means that it might encounter problems that have never before been experienced. Is it ready and prepared to face every possible scenario? That is very doubtful.

A recent report prepared by the Center for Economics and Foreign Policy Studies (EDAM) revealed the dimension of the challenges, especially at the security and safety levels.

Nuclear facilities present difficult but very attractive targets for terrorist groups. Turkey has plenty of them: In addition to the long-standing threat posed by the outlawed Kurdistan Workers' Party (PKK) and radical leftist groups like the DHKP-C, the location of the nuclear facility adds an additional vulnerability as Akkuyu is close to a number of state and non-state threats, including those emanating...