Russia lifts travel embargo on Türkiye

(Baonghean.vn)- On June 30, Russian President Vladimir Putin officially lifted the ban on selling tours to Türkiye to Russian citizens and assigned the Russian Government to negotiate to gradually ease sanctions against Ankara.

Russian President Vladimir Putin and his Turkish counterpart Erdogan in Ankara in 2014. Photo: AFP.

According to the Kremlin's announcement, President Putin has amended the decree "On measures to ensure the national security of the Russian Federation and protect Russian citizens from illegal actions and special economic measures in relations with the Republic of Türkiye".

The decree was signed by President Putin seven months ago, after the Turkish air force shot down a Russian Su-24 fighter jet participating in the anti-terrorist operation in Syria. The Kremlin said the changes would take effect immediately after being published.

President Putin also assigned the Russian Government to negotiate with the Turkish side on bilateral foreign economic relations to change the duration of application of special economic measures in the decree.

The decree on sanctions against Türkiye was signed by Mr. Putin on November 28, 2015. In addition to the ban on the sale of tourist tours to Türkiye and charter flights between the two countries, the decree also imposed a series of other sanctions, especially restricting the import of many types of Turkish goods.

Since January 1, 2016, Russia has suspended visa-free travel for Turkish citizens. Since then, Turkish companies and organizations or those controlled by Turkish citizens have been banned from engaging in many business activities in Russia.

According to statistics, nearly 5 million Russian tourists visit Türkiye every year, accounting for 12% of Türkiye's total foreign tourists. The special sanctions imposed by Moscow on Ankara affect many areas.

It is estimated that Russian sanctions reduced Türkiye's economic growth by 0.3% in 2016 with economic losses of up to $9 billion.

Russia's move came after Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan sent a letter of apology to Mr. Putin on June 27. In the letter, the Turkish leader affirmed that he wanted to do "everything possible to restore the traditional friendly relations between the two countries," and also stated that Ankara never intentionally shot down the Russian plane./.

Lan Ha

(According to AFP)