Updated April 03, 2018 19:35:06

Photo: Mr Putin and Mr Erdogan have met regularly over the past year. (Reuters: Sputnik/Alexei Druzhinin)

The leaders of Russia and Turkey are scheduled to launch the start of the construction of Turkey's first nuclear power plant as ties between the countries deepen.

Russia's Vladimir Putin, on his first foreign visit since re-election on March 18, arrived in Ankara on Tuesday for talks with Turkey's Recep Tayyip Erdogan.

The two will remotely launch the construction of the Russian-made Akkuyu nuclear plant on the Mediterranean coast.

The $20 billion ($26 billion) project is to be built by Russian state nuclear energy agency Rosatom.

The construction agreement between the two states was first signed in 2010.

Turkey and Russia have put aside their traditional rivalries and differences on regional issues to forge closer ties.

Mr Putin and Mr Erdogan have met several times in the past year and regularly speak on the phone.

On Wednesday, they will join Iranian President Hassan Rouhani to discuss Syria.

The three countries are sponsoring a series of peace efforts to end the conflict.

AP/Reuters

Topics: world-politics, energy, nuclear-energy, turkey, russian-federation

First posted April 03, 2018 19:05:53