Russia unveils sanctions list against Turkey

Russia's government on Tuesday approved a resolution listing detailed sanctions against Turkey in response to last week's downing of a Russian warplane near the Syrian-Turkish border. The resolution, signed by Prime Minister Dmitry Medvedev, bans from Jan. 1 imports of foodstuffs, including poultry meat, a variety of fresh, frozen and dried fruit and vegetables, as well as cloves and table salt. The resolution suspends activities of the Russian-Turkish Intergovernmental Commission for Trade and Economic Cooperation as well as all mutual trade and investments negotiations. The resolution cuts the number of annual licenses for 2016 granted to Turkish cargo transporters by road to 2,000 with a prospect of cancelling them altogether. Meanwhile, according to the resolution, Turkish citizens without a labor contract or a civil contract signed before Dec. 31, 2015 won't be allowed to work on the territory of Russia from Jan. 1, 2016. Bilateral agreement on visa-free travel is suspended, together with charter flights between the two countries except those meant to repatriate Russian tourists from Turkey. Also on Tuesday, Russia's Tour Operators Association said it had stopped selling tours to Turkey indefinitely, while the Ministry of Education and Science said it was curtailing cooperation with Turkey's universities and planned shortly to repatriate all Russian students in the near future. The detailed sanctions came after Russian President Vladimir Putin on Saturday signed a decree on economic sanctions against Turkey. Medvedev said Monday the sanctions list could be broadened in case of necessity. Turkish air force shot down the Russian jet last Tuesday, claiming it has violated Turkish airspace, whereas Moscow insisted the Su-24 stayed over Syria during its flight. Turkey was Russia's fifth largest trade partner this year before setting of the sanctions, according to the most recent Russian customs data. Russia's imports from Turkey were 3.1 billion US dollars in January-September 2015, with Turkey's turnover of goods with Russia equaling 18.1 billion dollars, or 4.6 percent of all Russian trade. Russia's exports to Turkey consist mainly of mineral resources, including hydrocarbons, while main import items are vegetables, fruit and textiles.