The Turkish government has acknowledged its dependence on Russia for uranium fuel at the Akkuyu nuclear power station, reports said.

According to Nordic Monitor the admission reflects both growing discomfort in Ankara and a wider effort to rebalance relations toward the West.

Energy minister Alparslan Bayraktar told parliament’s budget committee on 7 November that Turkey relies entirely on Russia’s state-owned nuclear corporation Rosatom for the uranium that will power Akkuyu, its first commercial nuclear power.