Russian nuclear giant Rosatom is negotiating the sale of a 49% stake in Turkey's Akkuyu Nuclear Power Plant project, estimated at $25 billion, Bloomberg reported on July 1.

The project is a cornerstone of Russian-Turkish energy cooperation. The Akkuyu plant, located in Mersin Province, is poised to become Turkey's first nuclear power facility.

The 4.8-gigawatt project is expected to begin supplying electricity in 2026, Anton Dedusenko, chairman of the board at Rosatom's Turkish subsidiary, told Bloomberg.

"The closer we are to the first unit generating electricity, the more investors start coming," Dedusenko said on the sidelines of the Nuclear Power Plants Expo & Summit in Istanbul.

A previous sale attempt in 2018 collapsed over commercial disagreements. This time, financing is complicated by the threat of U.S. sanctions, prompting Moscow and Ankara to consider alternative payment mechanisms.

"There are many ways how to deliver money here. We can deliver the Russian rubles, the Turkish lira," Dedusenko said.

Despite its NATO membership, Turkey has maintained open diplomatic and economic ties with Russia throughout the full-scale war against Ukraine, while continuing to supply aid to Kyiv and host international mediation efforts.

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The Kyiv IndependentDaria Shulzhenko

Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan revealed that US President Donald Trump expressed willingness to participate in high-level peace negotiations between Ukraine and Russia, contingent on Vladimir Putin’s attendance.

Speaking to journalists during his return flight from the NATO summit in The Hague, Erdogan provided direct quotes from his conversation with Trump, the Turkish CNN service reports.

“He [Trump] said: ‘If Russian leader Vladimir Putin comes to Istanbul or Ankara to solve the problem, I will come to Istanbul or Ankara.’ We will hold the necessary meetings and, hopefully, meet as soon as possible,” Erdogan shared.

The Turkish president also emphasized his country’s unwavering commitment to ending the war, stating:

“We say with absolute determination that ‘This war must end.’ The region can no longer bear this.”

The Turkish leader described the previous Istanbul discussions as having “opened the door to peace” and committed to continued mediation efforts.

“Our ultimate goal is to hold a meeting at the leaders’ level in our country and build the desired peace,” he stated.

Erdogan described productive discussions with the US president covering bilateral relations, NATO partnership, and regional issues.

“We will work to bring the parties together again,” Erdogan pledged. “Even if it requires digging a well with a needle for a solution, we will do it.”

During the June negotiations in Istanbul, Ukraine and Russia exchanged position papers outlining their respective visions for ending the war.

Russian demands include: 

• Ukrainian military withdrawal from four occupied regions (some parts of which are not even occupied fully) – Donetsk, Luhansk, Kherson and Zaporizhzhia oblasts.
• written guarantees from Western leaders to halt “NATO’s eastward expansion”, effectively excluding Ukraine, Georgia, and other former Soviet states from membership
• Ukraine adopting a neutral status and limitations on Ukraine’s armed forces.
• partial lifting of Western sanctions
• resolution of frozen Russian assets abroad
• protections for Russian speakers in Ukraine
• holding of Ukrainian elections under terms favorable to Moscow.

Ukraine rejected these demands, insisting on its sovereign right to choose alliances and strong Western security guarantees.

In contrast, Ukraine presented its own ceasefire proposals, including: 

• complete cessation of hostilities 
• return of deported children and prisoner exchanges
• security assurances
• rejection of any forced neutrality or restrictions on its military capabilities and alliances, including NATO membership
• direct talks between Zelenskyy and Putin
• maintaining Ukrainian sovereignty. 

Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan said Ankara is working to organize a meeting between President Volodymyr Zelensky and Russian President Vladimir Putin, with U.S. President Donald Trump potentially joining the talks, Reuters reported.

Speaking after his meeting with Trump, Erdogan said on June 26 that the U.S. president expressed interest in participating if the meeting were to take place in Turkey.

"He said,'If Russian President Vladimir Putin comes to Istanbul or Ankara for a solution, then I will also come,'" Erdogan told reporters. "We will hold the necessary contacts and, God willing, realize this meeting as soon as possible."

Zelensky and Trump met during the NATO summit on June 25, where the two leaders discussed battlefield developments, Kyiv's need for additional air defense systems, and the potential for co-production of drones.

Zelensky has previously voiced openness to a trilateral meeting. On May 27, he told public broadcaster Suspilne that he was ready to sit down with both Trump and Putin.

Putin has claimed he is also willing to meet, but did not attend previous talks proposed in Istanbul, opting instead to send lower-level delegates to peace discussions held on May 16.

The Kremlin has long sought to portray Zelensky as "illegitimate", with spokesperson Dmitry Peskov in February claiming that any talks must consider "legal aspects" of his mandate.

Turkey previously hosted direct peace talks in March 2022 and has remained one of the few countries with open lines to both Kyiv and Moscow. The latest round of direct talks on June 2 was held in Istanbul.

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The Kyiv IndependentMartin Fornusek