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Thursday March 28, 2024

Putin signs decree on economic sanctions on Turkey

By our correspondents
November 30, 2015
ANKARA/MOSCOW: Russian President Vladimir Putin signed a decree on Sunday to boost national security and introduce economic measures against Turkey, the Kremlin press service said.
“Russian President V V Putin has signed a Decree ‘On Measures to Guarantee National Security in the Russian Federation and Protect Russian Citizens Against Criminal and Other Illegal Actions’, and on Special Economic Measures Against the Turkish Republic,” the statement said.
The visa-free regime between the countries will be partially suspended after January 1, 2016. The measure does not concern Turkish nationals who have a temporary or permanent resident permit, as well as Turkish staff of diplomatic or consular missions in Russia and their families.
The Russian Foreign Ministry has been ordered to notify Ankara about these changes, the statement added.On Friday, Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov said that the Russian government had reached a decision to suspend the free-visa regime between Russia and Turkey due to security concerns.
The move comes as Russia started to question Ankara’s commitment to the fight against terrorism following the downing of a Russian Su-24 bomber on Tuesday by the Turkish Air Force over Syria.Russian travel agencies will have to stop selling tours to Turkey, according to the Kremlin. The directive is part of a decree that aims to boost Russia’s national security.
“Travel operators and agencies should refrain from selling tourist products to Russian citizens that involves going to the Turkish Republic.”Moreover, Russia will restrict import of certain Turkish goods except for the goods imported for personal use to an extent permitted by the law of the Eurasian Economic Union (EEU), the statement said.
The activities of Turkish organisations in Russia will also be restricted, according to the Kremlin’s press service.Moreover, Russian employers will not be allowed to hire Turkish citizens starting from January 1, 2016
Turkey is a major customer of Russian natural gas exports and a big destination for Russian tourists.Russia buys Turkish exports including produce, having already banned food from the United States and European Union in retaliation for financial sanctions imposed over Moscow’s intervention in Ukraine.
Russia’s Sports Minister Vitaly Mutko said on Sunday Moscow would not boycott international sporting events held in Turkey, but would require maximum security and would limit training trips by Russian athletes there, RIA reported.
Meanwhile, Turkey recovered the body of a Russian pilot from northern Syria and presented it to Russian diplomats on Sunday, five days after shooting down his warplane in an incident that wrecked relations between two of the main powers involved in Syria’s war.
A coffin carrying Oleg Peshkov arrived by ambulance on the tarmac of Hatay Airport in southern Turkey near the Syrian border, a Reuters photographer said.
It was flown to the capital Ankara, where according to Russia’s RIA news agency it was met at an airfield by Moscow’s ambassador and military attache.
The Russian embassy declined to comment and Turkish officials did not immediately disclose when the body would be repatriated to Russia.
The shooting down of the Russian fighter jet by Nato-member Turkey, the first known incident of its kind since the Cold War, has set back efforts to forge a united front against Islamic State or Daesh in the weeks since the militant group claimed responsibility for mass killings in Paris and blowing up a Russian airliner.
Moscow has responded towards Ankara with fury, calling the episode a pre-planned provocation.Turkey says Peshkov’s plane was in its air space and had ignored repeated warnings when it was shot down.
Russia says it was flying over Syria and was struck unprovoked.The navigator of the two-seat jet survived but another Russian service member was killed rescuing him from northern Syria.
Turkish Prime Minister Ahmet Davutgolu said on Sunday that Peshkov’s body had arrived in Turkey overnight, but gave no further details of how it was recovered or brought across the border.