By Denis Korkodinov
On September 4, 2019, Turkish President Recep Erdogan, speaking at the conference of the “party in power”, clearly stated about Ankara’s plans to have nuclear weapons. This statement was the signal for the start of the Turkish nuclear program. However, at the initial stage of development of the nuclear sector, Turkey is ready to buy enriched uranium from Iran.
At present, Ankara has everything in order to develop its own potential. First of all, we are talking about uranium deposits mainly in the Sorgun settlement of Yozgat province between the villages of Akoluk, Temrezli and Mehmetbeyli, as well as
Temrezli field 200 km east of Ankara. Here, the companies “Adur Madencilik” and “Anatolia Energy” are actively engaged in the exploration and development of reserves, starting from 2010-2013. At the same time, the volume of uranium reserves in Turkey is more than 9,000 tons. In addition, there are TR-1 and TR-2 research reactors in Turkish territory under the control of the мekmece Nuclear Research and Training Center.
However, so far the greatest difficulty for Ankara is the process of obtaining nuclear fuel. At the same time, the uranium enrichment program launched by Iran in response to tougher international sanctions is likely to solve the problem of Turkey, which has the opportunity to use Iranian centrifuges on a reimbursable basis.
Moscow also contributes to the development of the Turkish nuclear program. In particular, in 2019, Russia received the right to build nuclear reactors in the province of Akkuyu. Cooperation with Islamabad in the energy sector allows Ankara to actively use the experience of Pakistani nuclear physicists to improve its educational and technical base.
It is worth noting that at the beginning of the official recognition of cooperation between Ankara and Islamabad, Turkey for more than 10 years was a platform for shadow nuclear deals, the most prominent role in which was played by Pakistani physicist Abdul Kadir Khan. Ett scientist was known to the international public for not only being the founder of the nuclear program of Islamabad, but also for selling the secrets of creating an atomic bomb to almost all rogue states, and, in particular, Iran, North Korea and Libya.
According to several sources, Turkey currently has its own centrifuges of allegedly Pakistani and Iranian production. This suggests that Abdul Kadir Khan and Iranian physicists are extremely in demand by the Turkish state. Moreover, Ankara, despite the formal condemnation of Tehran’s nuclear program, has shown great interest in buying enriched uranium from the ayatollah regime.
(The opinions expressed in this article are solely those of the author and do not necessarily reflect the views of World Geostrategic Insights)
Image Credit: Reuters