Café Mente (A coffee..?): Russia's Putin lifts ban on charter holidays to Turkey

Thursday, June 30, 2016

Russia's Putin lifts ban on charter holidays to Turkey

Russian President Vladimir Putin has lifted curbs on tour firms selling holidays in Turkey, brought in after a Russian jet was downed last year.
Boats wait for tourists in Adrasan in the Olympos area, about 100km west of Antalya, Turkey, 1 June
The move was announced in a decree (in Russian), in which Mr Putin also ordered trade talks with Turkey.
The ban on charter flights hurt the tourist industry in Turkey, a favourite destination for many Russians.
The Kremlin accepted a letter from Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan as an apology this week.
Mr Putin spoke to Mr Erdogan by phone on Wednesday, telling him he planned to lift the travel sanctions.
The lifting of non-travel trade sanctions will depend on the outcome of the trade talks, the Russian leader said in his decree.
Mr Putin also condemned Tuesday's gun and bomb attack on Istanbul's Ataturk airport, one of the busiest in the world.
Mr Erdogan had expressed "regret" earlier this week to Mr Putin and to the family of the Russian pilot killed in the incident.
The fighter jet was shot down near the Syria-Turkey border in November. Turkey said the jet had been warned repeatedly after entering Turkish airspace, a claim fiercely denied by Russian officials.
Mr Putin said he had been stabbed in the back and accused Mr Erdogan of collaborating with so-called Islamic State.
Russia responding by hitting Turkey with a raft of sanctions, stopping the Russian package holidays and banning the import of Turkish foodstuffs.
Graphic showing tourism decline in Turkey
                                                                                          ''BBC News''

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