President Vladimir Putin said Russia is lifting a ban on tourism to Turkey after his first talks with Turkish counterpart Recep Tayyip Erdogan since the downing of a Russian warplane plunged relations into crisis.
It’s time “to begin the process of normalising trade relations” with Turkey by lifting sanctions, starting with tourism despite the threat of terrorism, Putin told a government meeting yesterday. Erdogan “assured me that the Turkish government will do all they can to ensure the safety of our citizens” in Turkey, he said.
Putin and Erdogan held “constructive” phone talks earlier yesterday that focused “on restoration of the traditionally friendly” ties between Russia and Turkey, the Kremlin said in a statement. They agreed to meet each other at the earliest opportunity, it said. Putin also offered “deep condolences” for the victims of the Istanbul airport terrorist attack in which suspected Islamic State suicide bombers killed 41 people and wounded more than 200 on Tuesday, it said.
The rapid warming of relations came after Erdogan sent Putin a letter Tuesday offering “sympathy and profound condolences to the family of the Russian pilot who was killed” when Turkish fighter jets shot down his warplane near the Syrian border in November. The Kremlin initially said Erdogan had apologised for the incident, though a text of the letter that appeared later on its website quoted him as saying “Excuse us.” 
A statement from the Turkish presidential office didn’t refer to Erdogan’s remarks as an apology.
Putin accused Turkey of a “stab in the back” for downing the jet while it was engaged in a mission against Islamic State and other militants in northern Syria. Turkey, a member of the North Atlantic Treaty Organisation, said the aircraft crossed into its territory and ignored warnings, while Russia insisted the plane never left Syrian airspace.
Putin warned of “serious consequences” and imposed sanctions that included a ban on charter flights that hurt Turkey’s tourism industry. Imports of some Turkish fruits and vegetables were also barred.
The tensions with Russia contributed to Turkey’s record drop in foreign-tourist arrivals in April. There was a 79% decline in Russian visitors as the number of overall arrivals fell by 28% to 1.75mn compared to a year earlier. It was Turkey’s ninth consecutive monthly fall in arrivals, the longest streak of year-on-year declines in statistics that span a decade, according to data compiled by Bloomberg.
Tourism accounts for 6.2% of Turkey’s economic output, according to the Association of Turkish Travel Agencies, and 8% of employment.