PM: Russian govt to work out economic retaliation for Turkey

MOSCOW, Nov 26 (PRIME) -- Russian Prime Minister Dmitry Medvedev has ordered the government and ministries to work out economic and humanitarian retaliation against Turkey’s unfriendly act as soon as possible, Medvedev said at a government meeting Thursday.

On Tuesday, Russia’s Sukhoi Su-24 bomber was shot down by an air-to-air Turkish missile and crashed in Syria. Russian President Vladimir Putin said it was “a stab in the back” from “accomplices of terrorists” and promised serious consequences in relations between Moscow and Ankara.

“I would like to tell you about the economic measures (for Turkey). We have discussed this issue with the president yesterday in Yekaterinburg. As a result, the government has been ordered to work out a system of retaliation measures in the economic and humanitarian spheres for the act of aggression. The decision will be based on the law on special measures adopted on December 30, 2006,” he said.

The measures may include suspension or termination of Turkish investment projects and talks on preferences for the country’s services and investments, suspension of programs for economic cooperation and restrictions in financial and trading spheres, prohibition of operation of Turkish companies in Russia, and restrictions of food supplies, Medvedev said.

It may also cover customs duties and restrictions on financial operations, he added.

All measures should have no time limit, their terms should depend on development of relations with Turkey and an international situation, he said.

Economic Development Minister Alexei Ulyukayev said that all possible measures will comply with regulations of the World Trade Organization (WTO). The regulations stipulate that such sanctions are possible in case of a threat to national security, he said.

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