Turkish Trade Minister: Russia remains our main trade partner
According to Turkish Minister of Customs and Trade Bulent Tyufenkchi, Russia remains Turkey’s main trade partner despite the tumultuous relationship between Moscow and Ankara over the last year, RIA Novosti reported.
"In spite of the cyclical reduction in bilateral trade, which previously reached $ 38 billion, Russia remains Turkey’s main trade partner,” Tyufenkchi said in an interview with the Turkish Anadolu news agency.
The minister explained that the two countries have taken important steps over the last several months to normalize relations which had been soured after a Turkish F-16 fighter shot down a Russian Su-24 frontline bomber over the Syrian-Turkish border in November of last year. Since June, when Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan submitted a formal apology to his Russian counterpart Vladimir Putin, relations between Ankara and Moscow have improved considerably.
Tyufenkchi noted that, in particular, the lifting of Russia’s ban on Turkish food imports has had a significant effect on trade relations.