MOSCOW (Reuters) – Russia will restrict flights to and from Turkey from April 15 to June 1 due to the increase in COVID-19 cases in Turkey, Russian Deputy Prime Minister Tatiana Golikova said on Monday. amid growing political tensions between the two countries.
The decision to drastically reduce the number of flights to Turkey, which depends heavily on tourism revenue, was announced two days after Turkish President Tayyip Erdogan met with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskiy in Istanbul.
Golikova, who spoke on Russia-24 television channel, did not mention the policy in the decision to restrict flights to Turkey, a popular destination for millions of Russian tourists.
He said the number of COVID-19 cases in Turkey had increased.
A senior government official said earlier Monday that Turkey’s daily coronavirus infections had risen to 50,000 and that Erdogan would probably order tightening restrictions this week before the start of the tourist season.
Asked about Russia’s move, Turkish Health Minister Fahrettin Koca told a news conference that a Russian delegation would soon visit Turkey’s tourist destinations to observe coronavirus control measures.
In the latest sign of worsening relations between Russia and Turkey, Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov said Turkey and other “responsible” nations should not feed what he described as a “beautiful feeling.” ligerant “in Ukraine.
His remarks followed a press conference on Saturday in which Erdogan, along with Zelenskiy, expressed his willingness to support a peaceful resolution of the conflict in the eastern pro-independence regions of Moscow in Ukraine, where tensions rose. recently.
Golikova said some flights, including two a week to Istanbul, would continue.
Russia will also suspend flights to Tanzania from April 15 to June 1, he added.
Reports by Vladimir Soldatkin and Gleb Stolyarov Additional reports by Ezgi Erkoyun in Istanbul Edited by David Evans, Mark Potter and Paul Simao