Russia approves sanctions against Turkey over downed plane

ANTALYA / MOSCOW

Russia's Prime Minister Dmitry Medvedev chairs a cabinet meeting in Moscow on November 26, 2015. AFP Photo

Russian Prime Minister Dmitry Medvedev on Dec. 1 signed a government order approving a raft of sanctions to be imposed on Turkey over the downing of a Russian warplane. 

The order, published on the government’s official website, included a list of the agricultural products that Russia will no longer import from Turkey from Jan. 1, 2016, Reuters reported. 

The list included fruits and vegetables such as tomatoes, onions, grapes and apples, as well as chicken products. It did not include lemons or nuts, of which Russia imports large quantities from Turkey.  

Many companies that are active in the Antalya Fresh Fruit and Vegetable Wholesale Market have already opted to halt their operations amid Ankara’s diplomatic crisis with Moscow, Doğan News Agency reported. 


“We have stopped sending agricultural products to Russia to minimize our losses. One of our ships has already been made to wait by Russian customs to enter the country, so we have decided not to send any more products as we know they will not be allowed to enter either,” said İbrahim Akbulut, an agricultural engineer in Antalya. 

“We’ll wait a bit longer. If our products are still not welcomed by Russia, we’ll try to send them to other markets,” Akbulut added. 

Another wholesaler at the market, Nejden Taşlı, said they had been unable to charge their money for their previous shipments. 

“Sixty of our trucks are waiting at Russian customs and our shipment is being left to rot away. After the Russian airplane was shot down last week, we halted our operations because we saw a drop in our fruit and vegetable prices of around 70 percent,” Taşlı said, adding that sector players are “not optimistic” about the future of their business.