Customs and Trade Minister Bülent Tüfenkçi announced that, according to figures for Dec. 1-15, there has been no decline in exports to Russia. On the contrary, exports to Russia are increasing, and the ministry believes the embargos will be moderate and soon come to an end.
Replying to members of the press about Russia's decision to start re-purchasing some of the products it had initially sanctioned, Tüfenkçi stressed that such decisions had been taken right after the airspace violation. However, Turkey has since given every effort to prevent the incident from turning into a crisis. He added that Turkey has not closed its borders nor has it imposed embargos on Russian products.
"Yet, Russia chose another method since it sent back fruit and vegetables and prevented some of our products from entering. The number of customs declarations that were returned or canceled was 203, according to the latest figures I received, which corresponds to $8.5 million worth of exports - nothing that would affect or damage the economy," Tüfenkçi said.
He emphasized that they are still eager for Russia to benefit from high-quality and cheaper Turkish products, noting that he still believes that all these problems will be resolved soon, especially after Jan. 1. However, Tüfenkçi also said that it is Russia's decision to completely cancel all embargoes, and the ministry hopes that all embargoes and boycotts will soon be lifted as they are damaging for citizens of both countries.
