ANKARA
The European Parliament was not objective in its nuclear report on Turkey, Taner Yildiz, Energy and Natural Resources Minister said Monday.
The European Parliament ruled in its latest assessment that Turkey's nuclear plans are unsafe, urging that the construction of the country's first nuclear plant should be stopped.
Yildiz challenged its accusations that the plant will be built on fault lines in which earthquakes could take place.
The construction of the Akkuyu nuclear plant will begin in 2016 and Russia's state-owned nuclear company, Rosatom, will have operating rights on the $22 billion plant. It will become fully operational in 2023 coinciding with the 100-year anniversary of the founding of the Turkish Republic.
"Would you invest $22 billion on unstable ground? If you wouldn't, neither would Russia," Yildiz said, assuring that "nuclear plants constructed in Turkey will be the sturdiest structures in the country”.
The European Parliament's report also contained a section recommending that approval be sought from neighboring countries on nuclear projects. In response, Yildiz said that if the European Parliament is objective, it should take into consideration Turkey's views on Armenia’s Metsamor nuclear plant near its border with Turkey.
"Our view on the plant is clear to everyone. The Metsamor plant poses a risk to Turkey," he said.
The Armenian government announced on May 5 that the Armenian parliament voted to extend the lifespan of Metsamor until 2026. The plant is located 16 kilometers from the Turkish border and is situated in a highly seismically active zone.
