Medvedev: Russian sanctions on Turkey should be lifted gradually
Russian Prime Minister Dmitry Medvedev said the lifting of sanctions against Turkey should be done gradually so as not to detrimentally affect Russian manufacturers and business partners, RIA Novosti reported.
"According to the order [to lift sanctions on Turkey], we have to prepare proposals to amend the relevant decisions, that is, an adjustment of the decree and the government resolution. We will act in stages,” Medvedev said.
“Here it is necessary, on the one hand, to lift these restrictions in view of the improving general political background, and, of course, not to the detriment of Russian producers and partners who have already occupied the vacant nice of the Russian market,” the Russian Prime Minister added.
On Monday, Kremlin Spokesman Dmitry Peskov announced that Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan apologized to Russian President Vladimir Putin for the downing of a Russian Su-24 aircraft by Turkish forces over the Syrian-Turkish border in November of last year.
Relations between Ankara and Moscow have been tense since the incident, though Putin announced that he intends to normalize relations as a result of Erdoğan’s apology.