The Turkish embassy to Russia has denied information from a number of Russian media outlets about a possible closure of the country’s borders to foreign tourists due to the spread of the Indian variant of coronavirus.
“This information, which was published with reference to an interview with Turkish Minister of Culture and Tourism Mehmet Nuri Ersoy, is untrue. The minister did not make such statements during his speech,” the embassy told Interfax.
On Monday, a number of Russian media outlets reported the possible closure of Turkey’s borders to foreign tourists due to the spread of the Delta strain, a new variant of Covid-19, citing the Turkish minister of culture and tourism.
Meanwhile, as the minister said in an interview with CNN Turk, the improvement of the epidemic situation in the country depends first on the rate of vaccination. Ersoy believes that if citizens are actively vaccinated, then Turkey can quickly reach a complete rectification of the epidemiological situation in the country.
As for the spread of the Indian variant of coronavirus and the possibility of reclosing the country’s borders, the culture and tourism minister said that in the current situation, no guarantees can be given, but the country is closely monitoring the Delta strain.
Next week Turkey is ready to receive a Ukrainian delegation to finalize the technical aspects of the draft agreement on a free trade area (FTA) between the countries, Turkish Trade Minister Mehmet Muş said.
“Our delegations have already fruitfully worked on the agreement. And next week we are ready to host a delegation from Ukraine to finalize the technical aspects of the draft agreement,” the press service of the Economy Ministry of Ukraine said, citing Muş, following his videoconference with First Deputy Prime Minister Oleksiy Liubchenko on Monday.
The Turkish minister said the delegations should intensify their work and in the near future submit a draft agreement on an FTA between the two countries.
“We have several positions left where we must find a balance in our trade relations. It should be noted that during the negotiations with our Turkish colleagues we came to constructive and progressive solutions that will allow us to protect domestic markets where necessary and prepare an agreement, which will contribute to the deepening of trade relations and the development of the economies of our countries,” Liubchenko said.
According to the Economy Ministry, the videoconference was held following a phone conversation between President of Ukraine Volodymyr Zelensky and President of Turkey Recep Tayyip Erdoğan.
New conditions for entering Turkey in connection with changes in the sanitary and epidemic situation in the country for all foreign citizens will take effect from June 4, 2021, the Ministry of Culture of Ukraine reported.
“Now, to cross the Turkish border, tourists must present a negative PCR test, made no more than 72 hours before crossing the border, or a quick antigen test made within the last 48 hours,” the ministry’s press service said.
At the same time, if a passenger traveling to Turkey presents a document issued by the official authorities of the respective country, which indicates that he was vaccinated at least 14 days before arriving in Turkey or that they have recovered from the disease in the last six months, PCR test submission and quarantine compliance are not required.
“This means that the abolition of the need for a PCR test, which was introduced from May 15, 2021, for persons arriving in Turkey by land, air or sea from Hong Kong, China, Taiwan, Vietnam, Australia, New Zealand, Singapore, Thailand, South Korea, Japan, Great Britain, Latvia, Luxembourg, Ukraine and Estonia, is temporarily suspended and will operate until June 3, inclusively,” the Ministry of Culture said.
Earlier it was reported that from June 1, Turkey returned the requirement for Ukrainian citizens to enter the country with a negative PCR test.
The Interdepartmental Commission on International Trade (ICMT) decided to introduce final anti-dumping duties on imports to Ukraine of swing-out mechanisms for window and balcony door units originating from Turkey for a period of five years in the amount of 30.78% for two manufacturers and 35.1% – for everyone else.
The ICMT made a corresponding decision at a meeting on April 23, the duties will come into force 30 days after the publication of the decision, the Uriadovy Kurier nrewspaper said on Thursday.
The Commission initiated an investigation into window and door fittings from Turkey in February last year at the initiative of Axor Industry LLC, a reduced duty of 30.8% will be applied to Ileri Pencere Kapi Sistemleri Sanayi and Ileri Pencere Kapi Sistemleri Sanayi.
According to the document, the deliveries of products were studied in 2017-2019, and they were investigated for 2019. During the study, the applicant’s sales volumes in the domestic market decreased by 12.9%, and their profitability – by 47.1%.
“There is a likelihood of a significant increase in dumping imports of goods originating from the Republic of Turkey, which threatens to cause significant harm to the national producer. Dumping imports of goods to Ukraine (…) were carried out at prices that were lower than the sale prices and the cost of such goods of the national producer in the domestic market of Ukraine,” the publication says.
More precise name of the taxable product sounds like “fasteners, fittings and similar products (except for window and/or balcony door handles with a key and/or without a key), of base metals for use in windows and/or balcony door blocks with a pivot and a swing-out mortar, classified according to UKTZED code 8302 41 50 10 made in the Republic of Turkey.”
According to the State Statistics Service, imports of fittings under the broader code 8302 41 50 from Turkey in January-March 2021 amounted to 0.760 tonnes for $2.01 million, while there was no export to this country. In general, during the specified period, Ukraine imported such goods for $5.89 million, exported – for $3.91 million.
The Ministry of Culture and Information Policy informs that from May 15, passengers flying from Ukraine to Turkey do not need to present the results of PCR testing.
“From May 15, 2021, passengers flying from Ukraine to Turkey do not need to present the results of PCR testing. The Turkish government has canceled the requirement for them to present the results of PCR testing,” the press service of the Ministry of Culture said.
It is noted that this decision will enter into force on May 15, 2021 at 00:00 Kyiv time.
Cancellation of testing will also be implied to passengers from China, Vietnam, Australia, New Zealand, Singapore, Thailand, South Korea, Japan, Great Britain, Latvia, Luxembourg and Estonia.
The Ukrainian naval forces took part in the initial planning conference for the training of the Turkish Navy Dogu Akdeniz 2021 (Eastern Mediterranean – 2021), which is to be held in the Western Mediterranean at the end of the year, the press service of the Ministry of Defense reported.
According to the command of the Naval Forces of the Armed Forces of Ukraine, the participants of the event considered the issues of defining the general concept of training, agreeing on the previous composition of the forces, it is planned to involve. Representatives of the Ukrainian Navy discussed the format of the participation of the Ukrainian side, in particular, the involvement of officers of the Ukrainian Navy in the multinational headquarters of the exercises, as well as the training of officers onboard the Turkish Navy corvettes of the ADA class (MILGEM) during their training.
In connection with the COVID-19 pandemic, an inception planning conference for the aforementioned training took place online.
