Turkey says not dependent on Russia for nuclear plant

Turkey on Wednesday insisted it was not dependent on Russia to build its first nuclear power plant amid uncertainty over the $20 billion project because of the crisis in relations between Ankara and Moscow, AFP reports.

Russia's state atomic agency Rosatom began constructing the plant in Akkuyu in the southern Mersin province on the shores of the Mediterranean in April. 

But the Kremlin has refused to emphatically commit to the project's future after Turkey shot down a Russian warplane on the Syrian border on November 24, prompting Moscow to impose selected economic sanctions on Ankara.

"We need to clearly say that just as we are not dependent on one door for trade, Turkey is not a prisoner of one country's technology regarding its nuclear plants," Deputy Prime Minister Numan Kurtulmus told the state-run Anatolia news agency.

"We know that there are many countries, many companies that are ready to respond to Turkey's demands."