Hurriyet Daily cited Mr Taner Yıldız energy minister of Turkey as saying that Turkey is not going to give up on nuclear energy but its nuclear projects need to eliminate all risks before they can be carried out.

On being asked about whether Akkuyu, in the Mediterranean province of Mersin, was the right location for the nuclear plant, he had never put his signature under a project he was not completely sure of. If there was a quake risk in the region we would change the location.

The minister said that the ministry was following the developments with the Fukushima power plant in quake stricken Japan adding that the accident was an extraordinary type but there were lessons to be learned from its example. Perhaps Japan will increase the height of its breakwaters.

He said that the negotiations with Japan for a nuclear plant in the Black Sea province of Sinop were ongoing and he could not presently guess how the possible outcomes of the earthquake would affect the procedure. Due to the extraordinary conditions in Japan, we delayed the deadline we had determined for the negotiations to come to a closure.

Mr Yıldız said that the nuclear plants in Turkey would be the best of their kinds. They have started to look for a suitable location for a third plant. He said that was possible but it would be determined by the technical data rather than the politicians prerogative.

He said while all the eyes had turned to nuclear plants after the disaster in Japan, those raising eyebrows were missing another source of nuclear threats. Nuclear submarines constitute a higher risk for people and the environment compared to the power plants. All of these submarines have their own power plants and there are so many of this type of submarines navigating in open waters. There are 71 of them in the United States alone.

(Sourced from Hurriyetdailynews.com)