Russian Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Maria Zakharova says Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov has canceled a planned trip to Turkey in the wake of the downing of a Russian warplane by Turkey.
The meeting between Lavrov and his Turkish counterpart had been scheduled for Wednesday.
Lavrov was quoted by news agency Interfax as saying that President Vladimir Putin “directly said that (the downing) cannot but affect Russian-Turkish relations. In this regard, it decided to cancel the meeting, which was planned for tomorrow.”
One of Russia’s largest travel agencies also says it will suspend selling package tours to Turkey as of Wednesday, citing security concerns.
Natali Tours says in a statement its offices in Russia and former Soviet republics would stop sending tourists to Turkey due to “an unstable political situation.”
It also cites Putin’s decree that suspended flights earlier this month to Egypt on security concerns in the aftermath of the October 31 plane crash over the Sinai peninsula.
Nearly 4.5 million Russians visited Turkey last year, 12 percent of all tourists there, second only to Germany.
— AP
Is our live election coverage important to you?
Are you relying on The Times of Israel for accurate and timely coverage of the 2026 Israeli election? If so, please join The Times of Israel Community. For as little as $6/month, you will:
- Support our independent journalists who are working around the clock to report political developments as they unfold;
- Read ToI with a clear, ads-free experience on our site, apps and podcasts; and
- Gain access to exclusive content shared only with the ToI Community, including our DocuNation streaming film series and weekly letters from founding editor David Horovitz.
Join The Times of Israel Community
JOIN NOW
Already a member? Sign in to stop seeing this
You're a dedicated reader
We’re really pleased that you’ve read X Times of Israel articles in the past month.
That’s why we started the Times of Israel - to provide discerning readers like you with must-read coverage of Israel and the Jewish world.
So now we have a request. Unlike other news outlets, we haven’t put up a paywall. But as the journalism we do is costly, we invite readers for whom The Times of Israel has become important to help support our work by joining The Times of Israel Community.
For as little as $6 a month you can help support our quality journalism while enjoying The Times of Israel AD-FREE, as well as accessing exclusive content available only to Times of Israel Community members.
Thank you,
David Horovitz, Founding Editor of The Times of Israel
Join Our Community
Join Our Community
Already a member? Sign in to stop seeing this
From the Liveblog of
Tuesday, November 24, 2015
Add ToI as a Preferred Source on Google
