On November 28, Russian President Vladimir Putin signed a decree on restrictive measures against Turkey. The decree either prohibited or restricted foreign economic transactions involving imports of certain goods from Turkey to the Russian territory. In addition, Russian employers are now forbidden to hire Turkish citizens for work in the Russian Federation. Russian tour operators were ordered to refrain from cooperating with Turkish resort destinations. The activities of Turkish organizations in Russia have been limited as well.

Russia strangles Turkey with sanctions

Russian employers will not be able to hire Turkish citizens for work in the Russian Federation from 1 January 2016. In addition, Russia is suspending the visa-free entry with Turkey from January 1, 2016.

To crown it all, Russia has banned charter flights between the two countries.

Interestingly, the head of the Ministry for Trade and Industry of Egypt, Tarek Qabil, announced  Egypt's readiness to replace Turkish goods with Egyptian ones.

Fruits, vegetables and light industry goods comprised nearly 66 percent of Turkish exports to Russia. According to the Egyptian Minister for Trade and Industry, "Egypt has a huge potential in producing and supplying these product to Russia," the Egyptian minister said, Pravda.Ru reports with reference to TASS.

An adequate proposal has already been sent to Russia's Minister for Industry and Trade, Denis Manturov. Cairo has also requested a full range of products that Russia was buying from Turkey.

All charter flights to deliver Russian tourists to Turkey have been stopped, representatives of the Russian tourist industry said. For the time being, only return charter flights remain to bring Russians back home from holiday.  

Ukraine is trying to take advantage of the crisis of relationship between Russia and Turkey. Kiev hopes that Ukraine can replace Russia for Turkey - it goes about the goods that Turkey was buying from Russia. This was stated by Ukraine's Minister for Agrarian Policy and Food, Aleksei Pavlenko.

In particular, Ukraine hopes to deliver grain, corn and oil to Turkey, thus becoming "the guarantor of Turkey's food security."

Turkey without Russian tourists

Russia is taking economic measures against Turkey following the downing of the Russian Su-24 bomber aircraft over Syria. Turkey shot down the Russian jet having claimed that Russia violated Turkish airspace, although both Russian officials and the surviving pilot proved that the Russian aircraft was flying only over the territory of Syria, where Russia continues to conduct the anti-terrorist operation.

Meanwhile, Turkish Prime Minister Ahmet Davutoglu has recently stated that the relations between Russia and Turkey are based on mutual benefit and common interests.

"Our priority is to keep all channels of communication open with Russia," said Davutoglu, adding that economic relations between the two countries were highly important both for Russia and Turkey.

According to Ahmet Davutoglu, it is incorrect for Russia to blame Turkey for the downing of the Russian warplane. "It does not fit the norms of international law. This is wrong, given the friendly and neighborly relations between Turkey and Russia, - the Turkish prime minister said. - When looking for the one who is responsible for that, one needs to start with a country that has violated our airspace many times before. The recent statements from the Russian side are not those statements that we can accept from the point of view of good neighborliness," Turkish Prime Minister Ahmet Davutoglu told reporters.

According to Vladimir Putin, Ankara is deliberately pushing its relations with Russia to a standstill. Turkey has neither apologized, nor proposed any compensation for shooting down the Su-24 above Syria, the Russian president said. Putin also said that Russia considers absolutely inexplicable the treacherous stab in the back from those whom Russia considered partners in the fight against terrorism.

A Turkish F-16 jet fired a missile at Russia's Su-24 military aircraft on November 24 above the territory of Syria. The pilot and the navigator of the bomber plane ejected, but commander Oleg Peshkov was killed with automatic gunfire from the ground, as he was parachuting down. The navigator of the aircraft survived and was safely removed from the terrorist-seized area to Russia's Hmeymim airbase in Syria.

Vladimir Putin called the attack a "stab in the back" from an "accomplice of terrorists". Putin warned that the incident would lead to serious consequences for Russian-Turkish relations.

Pravda.Ru

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