President of Ukraine Volodymyr Zelensky said that the country should increase the tourist flow to Turkey, thus urging Ukrainians to go there on vacation instead of Russians, who temporarily do not have such an opportunity. The corresponding video message was published on April 15 on the page of Zelensky’s office on Facebook.
“The Russians said they would restrict tourists, tourism from the Russian Federation to Turkey. These are their personal affairs. And I think that we need, on the contrary, to increase tourism and show that we support Turkey, ”said the Ukrainian leader.
According to Zelensky, during his visit to Istanbul, which took place on April 10, he discussed with Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan the issue of creating favorable conditions for mutual tourism.
After meeting with Zelensky in Istanbul, Erdogan said that Ankara does not recognize the “annexation of Crimea” and supports the sovereignty and integrity of Ukraine.
On April 11, President Erdogan expressed the hope that in the near future Russia and Ukraine will be able to peacefully resolve the existing differences.
On April 15, Turkish Foreign Minister Mevlut Cavusoglu said that Ankara has excellent relations with both Moscow and Kiev. According to him, now there is a discord between Russia and Ukraine, largely due to the positions on the Donbass. But Ankara will not support either side and will remain neutral.
Since April 15, Russia has limited air traffic with Turkey and Tanzania until June 1 due to the worsening situation with the coronavirus in these countries. According to the head of Rospotrebnadzor Anna Popova, Turkey has the highest incidence of COVID-19 among the states with which the Russian Federation has open air traffic. As Popova clarified on April 12, Russians bring a variety of COVID-19 strains from this country and 80% of coronavirus cases come from the republic.
However, some flights to Turkey will be operated. For example, the flights that are necessary for the participation of the Concern Titan-2 joint stock company in the construction of the Akkuyu nuclear power plant, as well as for the export of Russian tourists visiting Turkish resorts, will remain. In addition, there will be two regular flights a week between Moscow and Istanbul.