flickr.com/photos/nicokaiser
Russia's restrictions imposed against Turkey in response for "hostile actions" may cause losses for the country’s economy exceeding $11 billion in 2016, Russia's ambassador to Ankara Andrey Karlov told Russian news agency TASS, adding that tourism and agricultural sectors are likely to be hardest hit.
"We've managed to move the needle for bilateral cooperation with Turkey," he said, adding that "in 2014, the trade turnover between the countries exceeded $30 billion while almost 4.5 million Russians" visited Turkey for vacation time, TASS wrote.
According to Karlov who referred to "forecasts made by Turkish think tanks," "the Turkish economy may face losses from restrictive measures imposed by our country in response for Turkey's hostile actions worth more than $11 billion in 2016."
Karlov added that tourism and agricultural sectors will be hardest hit.
Trade turnover between Russia and Turkey is falling steadily impacted by the crisis in relations between the two countries, Karlov said in an interview aired by the Rossiya-24 TV news channel on Tuesday.
"We're following our trade turnover, which has dropped substantially. Whereas in 2014 the trade turnover equaled around $30 billion it dropped to $23 billion last year, and the downswing will continue in January," he said, adding that Russia's "trade with Turkey will further decrease."
Russia-Turkey trade turnover topped around $19 billion and is expected to drop by $800 million in 2016, Russia's First Deputy Economic Development Minister Alexey Likhachev said earlier.
Relations between Russia and Turkey have been locked in a spat over the downing of a Russian Su-24M bomber on November 24 by the Turkish Air Force's fighter jet. Ankara claims the bomber violated the Turkish air space in the area of the border with Syria. However, Russia's Defense Ministry has said there was no violation of the Turkish air space.
On November 28, Russian President Vladimir Putin signed a decree on measures to ensure Russia's national security and to protect its citizens from criminal and other illegal activities and to impose special economic measures against Turkey.