Russian sanctions against Turkey to mainly involve agricultural products

Russian restrictions on Turkish commodity imports will apply mainly to vegetables and fruits, Prime Minister Dmitry Medvedev announced Monday at a meeting with his deputies.

On Saturday, Russian President Vladimir Putin signed a decree imposing economic sanctions against Turkey after the Turkish air force shot down a Russian bomber on Nov. 24 near the Syrian-Turkish border.

The decree ordered the government to prepare a detailed list of goods, firms and officials that would be targets of Russian sanctions against Turkey.

First Deputy Prime Minister Igor Shuvalov suggested at Monday's meeting the banning of vegetables and fruits imported from Turkey in a draft government resolution, which would be signed by Medvedev.

"The proposal is not aimed primarily at punishing Russian citizens or Russian consumers, but at ensuring that the Turkish economy feels a negative effect," Shuvalov said.

"Therefore, we have chosen basically groups of goods which account for a substantial share of the Turkish exports, but the restriction will not be critical for Russian consumers," he added.

Shuvalov also said that vegetables and fruits may be either quickly replaced by domestic resources or purchased in other markets.

In addition, he noted that the government decided to exclude industrial products from the list of sanction targets, for they constitute a comparatively smaller share of the Turkish exports.

Stressing the sanctions are a "forced measure" taken in response to Turkey's "aggressive behavior," Medvedev said the sanctions could be broadened in case of necessity.

"Within the framework of the decree, we have powers to amplify the list of goods to be banned from being imported to the Russian Federation, to expand the list of persons to be banned from entering the Russian Federation, and to take other measures aimed at limiting or curtailing cooperation with the Turkish Republic," Medvedev said at the meeting.

"We hope that all these decisions will lead to the desired result," Medvedev said, adding that those measures are not aimed against Turkish citizens.

At the same time, Deputy Prime Minister Arkady Dvorkovich, who also attended the meeting, suggested that the government postpone the implementation of the fruit and vegetable ban for a few weeks in order to allow retailers to find new suppliers.

He also suggested cutting the number of licenses issued annually to Turkish cargoes traveling via road from 8,000 to 2,000, and to eventually cancel them all.

Besides, Putin's decree also ordered the government to ban charter flights to Turkey and set stricter controls on the Turkish air companies' activities in Russia, and to increase security measures at the ports of the Black and Azov Seas.

It has also forbidden the extensions of labor contracts for Turkish employees working in Russia until Jan. 1, 2016, and recommended Russian tourist agencies to stop selling tours to Turkey. Endi