ANKARA: The Turkish agricultural products ban would not affect food prices in Russia, the head of the Russian Federal Antimonopoly Service (FAS) said on Thursday. ST. PETERSBURG (Sputnik) — The extension of the ban on agricultural products from Turkey would not affect food prices in Russia, the head of the Russian Federal Antimonopoly Service (FAS) said on Thursday.
Earlier this week, Russia extended its food import ban from Turkey zucchinis and pumpkins as Western flower thrips, a major pest insect was found in the supplies. However, Russia’s agricultural watchdog Rosselkhoznadzor stressed that Moscow was not planning to introduce a full ban on the import of agricultural products from Turkey.
Russian-Turkish relations deteriorated after the downing of a Russian military plane by a Turkish fighter jet in Syria on November 24, 2015. Moscow imposed a number of restrictive measures on Turkey in response to what Russian President Vladimir Putin classified as a “stab in the back.” Russia’s retaliatory measures against Ankara include, in particular, restrictions on the activities of Turkish organizations in Russia, an embargo on Russian employers hiring Turkish citizens and a ban on certain food imports since January 1, 2016.
