Russia agreed Monday to lift some trade sanctions against Turkey imposed in the wake of the shooting down of a Russian warplane over the Turkish-Syrian border in 2015 but kept in place a contentious ban on tomatoes. An accord on the lifting of the sanctions was signed on the sidelines of a summit of Black Sea regional leaders in Istanbul by Turkish Deputy Prime Minister Mehmet Simsek and his Russian counterpart Arkady Dvorkovich.
The Russian government in a statement confirmed that the document "on the lifting of bilateral trade restrictions" was signed in the presence of Turkish Prime Minister Binali Yildirim and Russian Premier Dmitry Medvedev. Yildirim said remaining sanctions in sectors like construction, consultancy, tourism and wood would be lifted this month. Meanwhile, the Russian import ban would end in a week on Turkish exports of fresh products like apples, pears, strawberries, cucumbers and poultry, he added. But he acknowledged the import to Russia of tomatoes, a key Turkish agricultural export, was staying in place for now. Before the embargo, Turkey had supplied around a half of the tomatoes consumed in Russia.
"We have secured serious developments on all issues outside of tomatoes. We have shared our sensitivities on the tomato issue," Yildirim said. Admitting the tomato had now become a "symbol", he added: "Regarding the tomato, we need more time." Russia is keen to promote its own production of tomatoes as its seeks to diversify its hydrocarbon-based economy and develop agriculture.
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