Faced with Russian sanctions, Turkey prones patience

BRUSSELS

Turkey has so far not responded to Russian sanctions and is waiting to communicate with the country in "a healthy environment", Turkish Foreign Minister Mevlut Cavusoglu has said.

"Russia has made certain decisions, especially economic decisions, and we have not responded to them," Cavusoglu told reporters in Brussels on Wednesday.

"We are patiently waiting for these emotional reactions to end and then speak openly with our Russian friends in a healthy environment," he added.

Meanwhile, Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov said he did not decline an offer from his Turkish counterpart to meet this week.

"We will not hesitate to meet at OSCE [summit]," Lavrov told reporters on Wednesday after meeting Greek Cypriot Foreign Minister Yannis Kasulidis as part of talks on the Greek Cypriot side of the Mediterranean island.

After the downing of a Russian warplane that violated Turkey’s airspace near the Syrian border on Nov. 24, Moscow announced a wide range of sanctions against Turkey.

Among the sanctions imposed by Moscow is the end of a visa-free travel agreement between the two countries and a ban on Turkish food products. Russia has also called on its nationals to boycott Turkey as a tourist destination.

Speaking on a live TV interview on Tuesday, Turkish Prime Minister Ahmet Davutoglu said the government would attempt to prevent the negative effects of the deteriorating relations with Russia.

"We [are going] through a critical diplomatic period with Russia and we call on them to understand the incident correctly and overcome this period without permanent damages in our relations," he said.