"Today restrictions on charter flights to Turkey were lifted, all interested airlines can apply to carry out flights," the source said.
Russia`s Transport Ministry has submitted to the Cabinet a draft to abolish restrictions on charter flights to Turkey, but it has not been signed off as yet, a spokeswoman for Prime Minister Dmitry Medvedev said on Saturday.
"The Ministry of Transport has submitted the corresponding draft resolution," Natalia Timakova told RIA Novosti. Later on Saturday, a Transport Ministry spokesman told RIA Novosti that it was premature to announce resumption of charter flights to Turkey without a corresponding governmental decree. Charter flights between Russia and Turkey were suspended after the downing of a Russian Su-24 combat plane by the Turkish Air Force in November 2015 over Syria.
On June 30, Russian President Vladimir Putin signed a decree instructing the government to take steps aimed at lifting restrictions on tourist travel to Turkey as well as on charter flights after Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan wrote a letter in which he apologized for the downing of the jet and extended his condolences to the family of the pilot killed in the incident. Following a meeting in Saint Petersburg with the Turkish leader on August 9, Putin announced Moscow`s decision to resume charter flights to Turkey.
More about:
