Economic sanctions

A number of key sectors with strong ties to Russia - including the agricultural, construction and tourism sectors - are eyeing the complete removal of Russian economic sanctions on Turkey.

The European Union on Tuesday extended until April 2018 sanctions against Iran for "serious human rights violations", a narrower measure than restrictions the bloc had already lifted after an international accord on Tehran's nuclear programme, reported Reuters.

Turkey could impose economic sanctions on the Netherlands amid ongoing tension between The Hague and Ankara, Deputy Prime Minister Numan Kurtulmuş said on March 14.   

Turkey and Russia will discuss ways to enhance trade on agricultural products as the former expects the lifting of all sanctions imposed on Turkish food supplies amid an acceleration in the normalization of bilateral ties between the two countries. 

China expressed its opposition on March 17 to unilateral sanctions against North Korea saying they could raise tension, after the United States imposed new curbs on the isolated country in retaliation for its nuclear and rocket tests. 

President Vladimir Putin acknowledged on Jan. 11 in an interview with German daily Bild that Western economic sanctions over the Ukraine crisis are affecting Russia.

"Concerning our possibilities on the international financial markets, the sanctions are severely harming Russia," he said in a long interview, calling the EU sanctions "a theatre of the absurd".

Ankara could take measures to counter Russian sanctions against Turkey on a global level Turkish Economy Minister Mustafa Elita? has signaled after the sanctions came into effect with the new year. 

"We'll use our rights in line with World Trade Organization (WTO) rules," Mustafa Elita? said in a meeting to release 2015 export figures on Jan. 4. 

The European Union agreed Dec. 21 to prolong damaging economic sanctions against Russia for its involvement in the Ukraine crisis for another six months amid sharp differences over relations with Moscow, while Russia will introduce a food embargo against Ukraine next month over Kiev's trade deal with the EU.

German companies doing business in Russia have suffered collateral damage from Moscow's sanctions against Turkey, a business group said on Dec. 18.

The impact of sanctions on those companies has been "considerable," said the president of the German-Russian chamber of commerce, Rainer Seele.

"Two-thirds of them have been hit," he said.

EU leaders will debate sanctions against Russia over the Ukraine conflict at a summit this week and are expected to extend them for six months, foreign policy chief Federica Mogherini said Dec. 14.