© Sputnik/ Alexei Druzhinin
On June 30, Russia’s President Vladimir Putin signed a decree lifting the sanctions against Turkey. Putin also canceled tourism restrictions and instructed the Russian government to take steps aimed at lifting the ban of charter flights between the countries.
The decision was made despite the growing terror threat in Turkey: since the start of 2016, 209 people have been killed and 862 injured in terror attacks in the country.
Earlier on June 30, there were reports that Russia was ready for the gradual lifting of sanctions against Turkey. But, according to Russian Prime Minister Dmitry Medvedev, this shouldn’t be a blow to the Russian producers and new partners who came to the place of Turkish suppliers.
“We will act gradually. On the one hand, it’s necessary to remove these restrictions considering the improvement in the political atmosphere, but, of course, not at the expense of Russian producers and partners who have taken on the freed spots on the Russian market,” the Prime Minister said.
Discussions on fence-mending between Russia and Turkey started after the telephone conversation between Vladimir Putin and Turkish President Tayyip Erdogan this week.
There are rumors that Turkey has promised to afford some military and political concessions to Russia in the Middle East as a ground for the normalization of relations. Most likely Ankara has pledged to stop support and provide assistance to terrorists in Syria. However, experts do not expect that such promised could be turned into the reality.