Turkey's Restrictions of Imports From Russia 'Stab in the Back' – Minister

What Ankara did to Russian imports looks like a "stab in the back", the agriculture minister said.

MOSCOW (Sputnik) — Turkey’s introduction of limitations on the supply of agricultural products from Russia, including wheat, is a "stab in the back," Russian Agriculture Minister Alexander Tkachev said on Wednesday.

"We did not expect this. In a certain way it’s a stab in the back, and we very much hope that the relations between Russia and Turkey will come back to normal," Tkachev said in an interview with the Rossiya 24 television channel.

The minister added that Russia is able to cope with the lack of supply to Turkey and can find new markets, but "surely the common sense will triumph in the end."

"Turkey is interested in importing Russian goods, and not only grain," Tkachev said.

As of March 15, Turkey changed the rules of import on certain agricultural products for processing in the country, including wheat and sunflower oil. Russia was not included in the list of countries that have the right to export such supplies duty-free.

According to the Russian Agriculture Ministry, this decision by Ankara could lead to a cessation of the importation of Russian wheat, corn, beans and rice to Turkey and toward a reorientation of Russian exports to other markets.