Turkey Detains 10 Retired Admirals who Defended Maritime Accord

The Bosphorus strait is pictured through the window of a passenger aircraft over Istanbul, Turkey April 24, 2018. Picture taken April 24, 2018. (Reuters)
The Bosphorus strait is pictured through the window of a passenger aircraft over Istanbul, Turkey April 24, 2018. Picture taken April 24, 2018. (Reuters)
TT
20

Turkey Detains 10 Retired Admirals who Defended Maritime Accord

The Bosphorus strait is pictured through the window of a passenger aircraft over Istanbul, Turkey April 24, 2018. Picture taken April 24, 2018. (Reuters)
The Bosphorus strait is pictured through the window of a passenger aircraft over Istanbul, Turkey April 24, 2018. Picture taken April 24, 2018. (Reuters)

Turkey detained 10 retired admirals for signing a statement supporting an 85-year-old maritime accord, and President Recep Tayyip Erdogan said on Monday the document went beyond freedom of expression and implied a coup.

The statement, signed by more than a hundred former high-ranking navy personnel, voiced concern that the Montreux Convention could be debated or abandoned after having played an important role in Turkey’s security and past neutrality.

Government officials responded by accusing them of conspiring against the constitutional order, and Erdogan said the statement was unacceptable given Turkey’s history of military coups.

“The duty of retired admirals is... not publishing statements about a political debate that includes an implication of a coup,” Erdogan told ministers and AK Party members.

The military staged three coups between 1960-1980 and, with a statement by the National Security Council, pressured the first Islamist-led government out of power in 1997. Another coup was attempted in 2016.

“In a country that has a history full of coups and statements, it is unacceptable for 104 retired admirals to attempt such an endeavor,” Erdogan said, adding Turkey remained committed to the accord but could review it in the future.

The main opposition party said the government sought to distract from more critical issues, including a shock 12% lira depreciation two weeks ago, and record daily coronavirus cases. Erdogan blamed the opposition for the statement.

Montreux, signed in 1936, gives Turkey control over the Bosphorus and Dardanelles straits within its borders, and during peacetime guarantees access for civilian vessels. It also limits access of naval warships and governs foreign cargo ships.

The retired admirals defended the accord as strategically important for security, given Erdogan’s authority to withdraw from such pacts. Last month, the president suddenly ditched an international accord meant to prevent violence against women.

Prosecutors accuse the admirals of conspiring against state security, news website Haberturk said. State news agency Anadolu said four other suspects were called to report to police within three days as part of the probe.

The statement came as the government moves forward with plans to construct a massive canal connecting the Black Sea north of Istanbul to the Sea of Marmara to the south, parallel to the Bosphorus.

A Turkish official has said Montreux would not cover the canal.

The secularist armed forces were once the dominant force in Turkey but Erdogan and his Islamist-rooted AK Party have eroded their influence since coming to power in 2002.



Russia's Rosatom to Lead Consortium to Build First Nuclear Power Plant in Kazakhstan

A long time exposure picture shows the nuclear power plant in Grohnde, Germany, March 5, 2013. Picture taken March 5, 2013. REUTERS/Fabian Bimmer 
A long time exposure picture shows the nuclear power plant in Grohnde, Germany, March 5, 2013. Picture taken March 5, 2013. REUTERS/Fabian Bimmer 
TT
20

Russia's Rosatom to Lead Consortium to Build First Nuclear Power Plant in Kazakhstan

A long time exposure picture shows the nuclear power plant in Grohnde, Germany, March 5, 2013. Picture taken March 5, 2013. REUTERS/Fabian Bimmer 
A long time exposure picture shows the nuclear power plant in Grohnde, Germany, March 5, 2013. Picture taken March 5, 2013. REUTERS/Fabian Bimmer 

Russia's state nuclear corporation Rosatom and state-owned China National Nuclear Corporation have been tapped to lead separate consortiums to build the first nuclear power plants in Kazakhstan, the country's atomic energy agency said on Saturday.

Other proposals came from the state-owned China National Nuclear Corporation, as well as French and South Korean companies.

It was not immediately clear which other companies would participate in the Rosatom-led consortium, nor the cost and timeline of Rosatom’s proposal.

The two-reactor plant will be built in the village of Ulken, about 400 km northwest of Almaty, the commercial capital.

In October, Kazakhstan voted in a referendum, backed by its president, in favor of constructing nuclear power plants. The country says it plans to have 2.4 gigawatts of nuclear capacity by 2035.

The oil- and gas-rich nation of 20 million has not had any nuclear power generation capacity since 1999, when the BN-350 reactor on the shores of the Caspian Sea was decommissioned.

The Kazakh atomic energy agency, established this March, said it had reviewed various proposals for reactor technologies and assessed them based on nuclear power plant safety, personnel training and other criteria.

The agency “determined that the most optimal and advantageous proposals for the construction of a nuclear power plant in Kazakhstan were those received from the Russian company Rosatom,” it said.

“Currently, in accordance with Rosatom’s proposals, work has begun on the issue of attracting state export financing from the Russian Federation.”

Russian President Vladimir Putin visited Kazakhstan in November and discussed boosting energy and industry ties with the country, which exports most of its oil through Russia but is exploring alternatives.

In an article for the Kazakhstanskaya Pravda newspaper, Putin wrote that Rosatom, already involved in some projects in Kazakhstan, “is ready for new large-scale projects.”

In October, Kazakhstan voted in a referendum in favor of constructing its first nuclear power plant.

The plan, backed by President Kassym-Jomart Tokayev, faced criticism from some Kazakhs.

Kazakhstan is one of the world’s biggest uranium producers but currently relies mostly on coal-powered plants for its electricity, supplemented by some hydroelectric plants and the growing renewable energy sector.

Rosatom, created by a presidential decree in 2007, says it is the only company in the world that has all technologies of the nuclear fuel cycle, from uranium mining and nuclear research to building, fueling and running nuclear power plants.