The meeting took place as a follow-up to the telephone conversation between Russian President Vladimir Putin and Turkish President Recep Erdogan on 12 May.
Tatyana Golikova meets with Chief Foreign Policy Adviser to the President of Turkey Ibrahim Kalin and Minister of Culture and Tourism of Turkey Mehmet Ersoy
The Government House hosted a working meeting between Deputy Prime Minister Tatyana Golikova, Chief Foreign Policy Adviser to the President of Turkey Ibrahim Kalin, and Minister of Culture and Tourism of Turkey Mehmet Nuri Ersoy. The meeting was also attended by Rospotrebnadzor Head Anna Popova, Turkey’s Ambassador to Russia Mehmet Samsar and Deputy Minister of Health of Turkey Tolga Tulunay.
Tatyana Golikova noted the importance of developing cooperation between Russia and Turkey. “We are interested in the dynamic development of Russian-Turkish relations and the expansion of cooperation in trade, the economy, industry and technology. We will jointly promote major projects in the energy, transport, infrastructure and digital fields,” the Deputy Prime Minister emphasised.
Tatyana Golikova called for stepping up joint efforts in coronavirus response efforts. As the Deputy Prime Minister noted, Russia is ready to provide Turkey with the necessary assistance. This refers mainly to establishing Sputnik V vaccine production in Turkey. According to Tatyana Golikova, the process of immunising the population will lead to victory over the coronavirus.
In addition, the Deputy Prime Minister invited her Turkish colleagues to join the Travelling without COVID-19 digital platform in a pilot mode. The platform was developed in the Eurasian Economic Union and provides, based on information from certified laboratories, confirmation of the absence of the coronavirus after a negative PCR test result is obtained. Citizens of states participating in this programme can enter Russia with a simplified procedure using this mobile application. At the same time, compliance with all sanitary and epidemiological requirements is ensured. The use of this digital service will ensure the health safety of public travel.
The main topic of the meeting was the possibility of restoring air service and tourist volume between the two countries. “Turkey is one of the most popular and favoured holiday destinations for Russians. At the same time, ensuring the safety of Russians including their health safety remains an absolute priority,” Tatyana Golikova said.
According to Ms Golikova, the resumption of flights and tourism will depend on the criteria to be approved by the Emergency Response Centre for assessing the sanitary and epidemiological situation, while taking into consideration the morbidity rates in Russia and Turkey.
To assess the situation and the prospects for resuming air service, the parties agreed to hold consultations between the Federal Service for Surveillance on Consumer Rights Protection and Human Wellbeing and Turkey’s related agencies and also a visit by a Russian delegation to Turkey. The delegation will include representatives from the respective ministries and agencies and also the tourist industry. During the visit the delegation will inspect tourist destinations to assess the security measures taken. In addition, it was decided to develop a joint action plan to determine the conditions for resuming tourist travel between both countries. This decision will lead to protecting the health of Russian tourists at Turkish resorts.
These issues were also discussed at a field-specific meeting between the Turkish delegation, headed by Minister of Culture and Tourism Mehmet Nuri Ersoy, and Head of the Russian Federal Agency for Tourism (Rostourism) Zarina Doguzova.
“We agreed to maintain close contact with Turkey, including meetings on the epidemiological situation there. Rostourism is ready to send its representatives as part of a Russian delegation to assess Turkey’s preparations for Russian tourists. After we confirm positive results, we will quickly work out steps for the safe and convenient restoration of mutual tourist traffic,” Zarina Doguzova said.
