Russia Denies Refusing Visas To Turkish Carrier

Russia has rejected Ankara's accusation that it was arbitrarily denying visas to the Turkish budget carrier Pegasus.

Moscow suspended visa-free travel for Turks from January 1 after a Turkish jet shot down a Russian bomber on the Turkish-Syrian border in November.


Turkish Transport Minister Binali Yildirim accused Russia on January 6 of violating international aviation rules by refusing to issue visas to the crews of Pegasus, which has suspended flights to Russia until January 13.

But Russia's Foreign Ministry said the carrier had only applied for visas at the Russian Consulate in Istanbul in the afternoon of January 6.

It also said Turkish airline Onur Air, which has suspended its flights to Russia until January 14, had not applied for visas at all.
[Based on reporting by Reuters, TASS, and Interfax]
  rferl.org
6/1/16
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