Turkey ups visa-free stay for Russians to 90 Days
By Kamila Aliyeva
Turkish Foreign Minister Mevlut Cavusoglu has announced the possibility of extending the term of visa-free stay for Russian citizens in Turkey.
"The period of visa-free stay for Russians in Turkey will be increased from 60 to 90 days," Cavusoglu said at a conference of the Russian Press Council held in Alanya, Anadolu reported.
Previously, Cavusoglu announced that Ankara had begun negotiations with Russia regarding passport-free travel, saying that Turkey will be installing devices in airports with capabilities to read the identification cards of Russian citizens.
Russia has been the second largest source of foreign tourists visiting Turkey, but the number of Russian tourists began to decline after a diplomatic crisis between the two countries in late 2015.
Russia had imposed a number of economic sanctions, including the suspension of visa-free travel, on Turkey at the beginning of last year in response to the downing of a Russian Su-24 bomber.
Relations were normalized this June and July through a letter and subsequent telephone calls between the countries’ leaders. Since then, increasingly Turkey and Russia relations have become normalized.
This year, Turkish tourism sector expects to receive about five million tourists from Russia.
In March 2017, a number of documents in the sphere of tourism were signed in Moscow following the talks between Turkish Deputy Minister of Culture and Tourism Huseyin Yayman and Head of the Federal Agency for Tourism of Russia (Rosturizm) Oleg Safonov.
---
Kamila Aliyeva is AzerNews’ staff journalist, follow her on Twitter: @Kami_Aliyeva
Follow us on Twitter @AzerNewsAz