MOSCOW, May 31 (Xinhua) -- Russian President Vladimir Putin has signed a decree to lift several economic sanctions that have been imposed on Turkey since it downed a Russian jet in November 2015, the Kremlin said Wednesday.
The decree abolishes restrictions on the operation of Turkish companies in Russia and on the employment of Turkish citizens in the country.
It also allows more Turkish nationals, including aircraft crews, business travelers and diplomats, to visit Russia visa-free.
Russia has imposed a series of economic sanctions on Turkey, including prohibiting imports of certain commodities, banning trips, suspending the visa-free regime and freezing plans to build a new pipeline to carry Russian natural gas to Europe via Turkey.
Russia-Turkey relations have been recovering since Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan apologized in June 2016 to Putin for the downing of a Russian fighter near the Syrian-Turkish border.
Since then, most of the Russian sanctions have been lifted and both sides agreed to smooth out the remaining issues, particularly mutual restrictions on the trade of agricultural products.
