MOSCOW: A Russian delegation is expected to visit Turkey soon to assess coronavirus measures and precautions in the country and to decide whether to restart reciprocal flights that have been suspended until June, officials said.
The development followed a visit to Moscow on Monday by a Turkish delegation led by Culture and Tourism Minister Mehmet Nuri Ersoy, Presidential Spokesperson Ibrahim Kalın and Deputy Health Minister Tolga Tolunay. Turkish officials are expected to discuss several issues with the delegation, including tourism, flight restrictions and COVID-19 vaccine shipments, during the upcoming visit.
Russia is watching the case numbers and easing of measures in Turkey closely, and officials are aware of the positive trend, Ersoy told reporters after talks with authorities. The minister noted that Russian authorities would evaluate relevant reports and provide their feedback soon.
“After evaluating the reports, they will provide us with a visit date for on-site observation in Turkey,” the minister noted.
“If they had not seen the decline in the number of cases, the good progress, there would not have been requests to observe on-site,” he added.
“They have welcomed our request for the reopening of air traffic. They just wanted some time to observe on the spot and make the final decision.”
Turkey emerged on Monday from a full lockdown that lasted nearly three weeks and eased restrictions, offering some hope for the key summer tourist season.
The daily cases plummeted to nearly 10,000 on Monday from a record high of 63,082 a month ago.
Russia, the country’s top source of visitors, last month suspended most air travel to and from Turkish cities until June 1, citing rising COVID-19 cases. Only two flights per week are allowed on a reciprocal basis between Moscow and Istanbul.
“We reached an agreement for the Russian vaccine to come to Turkey as soon as possible as well as steps to be taken for the tourism season, the starting of flights and speeding up the process,” Kalın said. – Agencies
