Turkey urges Russia to abolish all trade restrictions

By Azernews

By Gunay Hasanova

Turkey has called on Russia to fully lift all restrictions on supplies of Turkish goods to the Russian market.

"It is necessary to lift all existing restrictions, imposed to reduce Turkish exports of food and agricultural products," Turkish Foreign Minister Mevlut Cavusoglu told TASS on November 28, in the run-up to the visit of Russia’s Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov to Turkey.

"Also, it is necessary to lift sectoral restrictions against Turkish companies and entrepreneurs (who forfeited the opportunity to work because of sanctions)”, Cavusoglu said, adding that he considers it important to "reopen the door for operations of cargo companies," which were also affected by the crisis between the two countries.

Russia banned imports of bell pepper, pomegranates, aubergines, lettuce, Iceberg lettuce, marrows and pumpkins from Turkey due to phytosanitary considerations in spring 2016 after the worsening of Ankara-Moscow ties in late 2015.

Prior to that Russia restricted imports of oranges, tangerines, grapes, apples, pears, apricots, peaches and nectarines, plums, wild strawberries, strawberries, tomatoes, cucumbers, cauliflower, broccoli, yellow onions, as well as frozen turkey and chicken from Turkey.

In October after the talks between the two countries’ presidents, the Russian government decided to allow on its market a number of Turkish agricultural products, including citrus. The embargo was lifted in respect of fresh and dried oranges and tangerines, fresh apricots, peaches and nectarines, plums and thorns.

Moreover, Cavusoglu stressed that all visa restrictions between Turkey and Russia should be lifted.

"If visa-free travel is resumed, it will have a positive impact on bilateral relations since the official contacts between our countries have been stepped up, and trade, tourism, and investment cooperation has been growing," he said.

The Turkish FM believes to develop relations, both countries should exert efforts and be creative.

Cavusoglu pointed out that Turkey and Russia had been intensifying mutual contacts lately."This week, I will be meeting with my dear counterpart Sergey Lavrov in Antalya. After that, our Prime Minister Binali Yildirim will visit Moscow upon the invitation of his Russian counterpart Dmitry Medvedev. Next year the two countries’ leaders will hold another meeting," he added.

The minister mentioned that Turkey expects these contacts to facilitate the normalization of bilateral relations and help advance cooperation.

"We should not speak about how to return our relations to the pre-crisis level. We should discuss how to develop them further and bring them to new heights," Cavusoglu said.

“Turkey and Russia are not just neighbors but are ages-old countries, which have together defined the "rhythm of movement in Eurasian geography for many centuries”..

Relations between Turkey and Russia broke down for about seven months after Turkey shot down a Russian warplane in November 2015. However, relations have improved since the August meeting of the two presidents.