Russia enables 'some' Turkish agricultural exports

By Sinan Uslu

LEFKOSA, Turkish Republic of Northern Cyprus (AA) - Moscow signed a decree allowing Turkey to export "some" of the previously sanctioned agricultural products to Russia, a Turkish prime ministry source said Thursday.

The source, who spoke on condition of anonymity, said Turkish Prime Minister Binali Yildirim had a phone conversation with his Russian counterpart Dmitry Medvedev ahead of President Recep Tayyip Erdogan's visit to Moscow on Friday to attend a high-level meeting with Vladimir Putin.

During the conversation, Medvedev told Yildirim that he signed the decree removing sanctions on some products, the source said, without giving further details.

The premiers also discussed trade, transportation, agriculture, customs, energy and visa regime issues, the source added.

Yildirim and Medvedev expressed their "pleasure" about the improvement of bilateral relations, and confirmed their "determination" to move the relations forward.

Erdogan and Putin are expected to exchange views on regional and international issues at the High Level Cooperation Council (HLCC) meeting on Friday, which includes government ministers from both states.

The last meeting between the two leaders was held last August after Turkey and Russia patched up the fallout from the November 2015 downing of a Russian jet over the Turkey-Syria border.

Russia imposed sanctions on various Turkish agricultural products, as a result of the jet crisis. After the start of the normalization process, Russia removed sanctions on some of these products, particularly on citrus fruits, however the majority of the sanctions still remain.