Russia expected to lift ban on Turkish food in 2 months
Food, Agriculture and Livestock Minister Faruk Çelik said Tuesday that Russia is expected to lift sanctions on agricultural imports within a couple of months. Stating that technical talks were held on Tuesday, Çelik said both parties have their own demands in the matter. Çelik sent a message to his Russian counterpart suggesting a meeting between the two ministers to discuss the issue in efforts to reactivate the pre-jet crisis mechanism in its previous form while stressing that new demands will be added later.
Recalling the problematic period that has developed since the jet crisis with Russia on Nov. 24 last year, Minister Çelik said the ministry has been in contact with Russian authorities throughout the turmoil and agricultural officials from both countries held talks in April.
Due to the sanctions imposed on agricultural trade with Russia, Turkish farmers suffered huge losses and Russian consumers had to purchase more expensive products. Minister Çelik pointed out that both President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan and Russian President Vladimir Putin displayed a close relationship during G20 meetings in China, openly announcing the lifting of sanctions on the agricultural market, which the minister said was the result of Russia's agreements with other countries in agriculture, the sanctions are expected to be lifted within a couple of months.
Stressing that the pre-crisis implementation will hopefully be activated in the near future, Çelik said there are no problems in politics or the resuming of agricultural exports and imports, adding that both countries are just beginning to take the first step, which will happen soon enough.
The shooting down of the Russian jet in November last year led to a freeze in relations between the Kremlin and Turkey, including economic sanctions on Turkish food imports and a ban on Russian tourism to Turkey that only recently thawed in June when Erdoğan wrote to his counterpart and the two later spoke by telephone.
On June 30, Russia lifted a ban on charter flights and began negotiations toward lifting the imposed bans.
Moreover, the meeting between President Erdoğan and President Putin on Aug. 9 is regarded as the onset of a new era in terms of relations between the two countries, further fostering economic cooperation. In this respect, more concrete steps have begun to be taken for cooperation in the field of energy. On Sept. 2 Russia resumed charter flights to Turkey and with the expected lifting of the food ban, Turkish-Russian relations will be brought above the pre-crisis level.
Recalling the problematic period that has developed since the jet crisis with Russia on Nov. 24 last year, Minister Çelik said the ministry has been in contact with Russian authorities throughout the turmoil and agricultural officials from both countries held talks in April.
Due to the sanctions imposed on agricultural trade with Russia, Turkish farmers suffered huge losses and Russian consumers had to purchase more expensive products. Minister Çelik pointed out that both President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan and Russian President Vladimir Putin displayed a close relationship during G20 meetings in China, openly announcing the lifting of sanctions on the agricultural market, which the minister said was the result of Russia's agreements with other countries in agriculture, the sanctions are expected to be lifted within a couple of months.
Stressing that the pre-crisis implementation will hopefully be activated in the near future, Çelik said there are no problems in politics or the resuming of agricultural exports and imports, adding that both countries are just beginning to take the first step, which will happen soon enough.
The shooting down of the Russian jet in November last year led to a freeze in relations between the Kremlin and Turkey, including economic sanctions on Turkish food imports and a ban on Russian tourism to Turkey that only recently thawed in June when Erdoğan wrote to his counterpart and the two later spoke by telephone.
On June 30, Russia lifted a ban on charter flights and began negotiations toward lifting the imposed bans.
Moreover, the meeting between President Erdoğan and President Putin on Aug. 9 is regarded as the onset of a new era in terms of relations between the two countries, further fostering economic cooperation. In this respect, more concrete steps have begun to be taken for cooperation in the field of energy. On Sept. 2 Russia resumed charter flights to Turkey and with the expected lifting of the food ban, Turkish-Russian relations will be brought above the pre-crisis level.
Last Update: September 08, 2016 01:07