Russian sanctions against Turkey lifted by 99%

A full package of documents to lift Russia's sanctions against Turkey will be prepared already this week, Russian Deputy Prime Minister Arkady Dvorkovich said.

The agreements voiced by Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan are now being fixed on paper. "Nearly 99% of the work has been completed," RIA Novosti cited him as saying.

In addition, the Deputy Prime Minister noted that the government is also preparing relevant drafts. "As soon as the protocol is signed, I think, the lifting of restrictions will begin immediately," Dvorkovich added, answering journalists' questions.

A research fellow at the center for agrarian and food policy at RANEPA, Vasily Uzun, speaking with a correspondent of Vestnik Kavkaza, noted that Turkish business, after lifting the sanctions, will be able to quickly restore the old ties with Russia. "In this case, it is necessary to take the season into account: for example, they will not import cucumbers and tomatoes in summer, which means that Turkish imports will be completely restored in autumn and winter. Turkey will start table grape imports in July-August," the expert said.

Winter will be the most comfortable time for Turkish products to return to the Russian market. "In summer, Russian products grown in open ground are highly competitive, as they are relatively cheap. But the advantage of winter production from Turkey is quite serious. The production of cucumbers in Russia has grown, so the competition will be tougher, but, still, Turkish cucumbers are cheaper," Vasily Uzun stressed.

"Moldovan grapes can compete with Turkey's table grapes. We have citrus supplies from Morocco and other countries, and here the Turkish producers will have problems with returning to the Russian market, since they will have to offer significantly cheaper products," he noted.

At the same time, it is more important for the Russian-Turkish economic cooperation to open Turkish resorts for Russian tourists. "In connection with the resolution of organized tourism, I think our foreign trade turnover with Turkey will grow substantially," the research fellow at the center for agrarian and food policy at RANEPA concluded.

Deputy Dean of the Faculty of International Journalism, associate professor of the World Economics Department at the Moscow State Institute of International Relations, Nigar Masumova, in turn, warned that the timing of the return of Turkish products will depend on when the named 99% will turn into 100%. "The first meeting of presidents in Sochi on this topic was held not so long ago - but solving of all technical problems depends on how quickly the ministries prepare all the necessary documents," she noted.

Nigar Masumova also pointed out that the most profitable time for the return of Turkish products is autumn and winter. "Agricultural products will be able to return to the Russian markets quite quickly," the Deputy Dean of the Faculty of International Journalism, associate professor of the World Economics Department at the Moscow State Institute of International Relations expects.

The expert stressed that the normalization of economic relations will help advance other aspects of the Russian-Turkish cooperation. "The sanctions are hampering our economic interaction, but for relations as a whole any restrictions in trade are unpleasant, and the sooner they are removed, the easier it will be for us to cooperate in other sectors, including on Syria," Nigar Masumova summed up.