Russia ‘to keep all restrictions in place as long as Turkish duties on grain remain’

KRASNOYARSK/ANKARA

REUTERS photo

Russia will not lift restrictions on certain products as long as Turkish duties on Russian grain remain in effect, Russian Deputy Prime Minister Arkady Dvorkovich said on the sidelines of the Krasnoyarsk Economic Forum on April 21, as reported by TASS. 

“The lifting of duties on grain is a fundamental issue for us. We will take no action as long as those duties stay. There is no chance they we may lift something before the duties on grain go,” Dvorkovich said. 

“If the grain issue is settled, there is a certain set of measures that we might be prepared to negotiate,” he added. 

Russia also does not intend to reopen its market to imports of Turkish tomatoes, another top Russian official was quoted by Russian news agencies as saying on April 20.

Russian Agriculture Minister Alexander Tkachev recently said he estimated Russia’s losses in the trade dispute with Turkey are around $1.5 billion, TASS news agency reported. 

A Turkish delegation headed by Deputy Prime Minister Mehmet Şimşek traveled 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 Dvorkovich.

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

Ankara and Moscow are set to hold final talks to resolve their bilateral economic issues on May 6 and 7 after the related technical negotiations are completed, he added. 

A Russian delegation is also slated to visit Turkey ahead of the final negotiations, according to Turkish officials.