Final talks on economic issues between Ankara, Moscow to be held in May: Turkish Deputy PM

ANKARA

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Turkey and Russia are set to hold final talks to resolve their bilateral economic issues on May 6 and 7 after the related technical negotiations are completed, a top Turkish official has said. 

A Turkish delegation headed by Deputy Prime Minister Mehmet Şimşek travelled to Russia on April 18 to discuss remaining sanctions on Turkish vegetables and a ban on employing Turkish workers. Economy Minister Nihat Zeybekci accompanied Şimşek at the meeting scheduled with a Russian delegation headed by Deputy Prime Minister Arkady Dvorkovich.

Şimşek said the delegations held productive meetings in a bid to lift import bans and to boost commercial ties, state-run Anadolu Agency has reported. 

“A Russian delegation will visit Turkey next week. Dvorkovich will be in Turkey on May 6 and 7 and we will then hold final negotiations,” he said, as quoted by Anadolu Agency on April 19. 

Şimşek said the lifting of a Russian ban on fresh fruit and vegetable imports from Turkey was discussed in Moscow, adding that a continuing sanction on employing Turks in Russian businesses, particularly in the construction sector, was also discussed.  

The delegation also discussed the return to visa-free travel between the two countries, he added. 

Dvorkovich told the visiting Turkish delegation that it expected Ankara to lift restrictions on Russian grain exports to Turkey, the Russian government said in a statement, as reported by Reuters late on April 18. 

Russian and Turkish ministers meeting in Moscow reached “a common understanding” that further work was needed to resolve differences over trade, and agreed to hold intensive consultations over the next two weeks, it said.