Erdoğan: Akkuyu nuclear plant construction to start in 2018

Construction on Turkey's first nuclear power plant will begin in 2018, President Tayyip Erdoğan said on Tuesday, adding that the plant's inauguration would be held "very soon" with Russian President Vladimir Putin.

Erdoğan was speaking at an energy ceremony in Ankara.

The Akkuyu Nuclear Power Plant is a nuclear power plant in the Büyükeceli district of Turkey's Mersin province. It will be the Turkey's first nuclear power plant.

Turkey’s president said on Tuesday that 3,655 terrorists have been “neutralized” since the start of Operation Olive Branch in Afrin, northwestern Syria.

Erdoğan said the terrorists were “neutralized” during Turkey’s counterterrorist operation in Afrin, near Turkey's southern border.

Turkish authorities often use the word "neutralized" in their statements to imply the terrorists in question either surrendered or were killed or captured.

Turkey launched Operation Olive Branch on Jan. 20 to clear terrorist groups from Afrin in northwestern Syria amid growing threats from the region.

On Sunday, Turkish-backed troops liberated the town of Afrin, which had been a major hideout for the PYD/PKK since 2012.

According to the Turkish General Staff, Operation Olive Branch has aimed at establishing security and stability along Turkey's borders and the region as well as protecting Syrians from terrorist cruelty and oppression.