Russia, Turkey agree on lifting of trade restrictions

By Azernews

By Kamila Aliyeva

Russia and Turkey have signed a joint statement on mutual lifting of trade restrictions, as  Deputy Prime Ministers Arkady Dvorkovich and Mehmet Simsek inked the document on the sidelines of the BSEC summit on May 22.

The signing ceremony was attended by the two countries' Prime Ministers Dmitry Medvedev and Binali Yildirim.

Medvedev attended the summit of the Organization of the Black Sea Economic Cooperation (BSEC), on the margins of which he held talks with his Turkish counterpart.

As the Russian government's press service reported, during the visit to Istanbul the Russian prime minister is also expected to hold talks with Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan.

Although Turkey and Russia could mend relations after a long-crisis due to Turkey’s downing a Russian warplane in November 2015, a number of sanctions imposed on Turkish goods, as well as a strict visa regime on Turkish nationals have not been lifted for a long time. 

The meeting held between Russian President Vladimir Putin and his Turkish counterpart Recep Tayyip Erdogan on May 3 has marked the "full-format" restoration of bilateral ties and focused on trade restrictions and barriers lifting. During this meeting, Russia and Turkey agreed upon comprehensive settlement of restrictions in bilateral economic relations.