Russia will restrict flights to and from Turkey from April 15 to June 1 due to a rise in COVID-19 cases in Turkey, Russian Deputy Prime Minister Tatyana Golikova said on Monday, amid growing political tensions between the two countries.

The decision to drastically cut the number of flights to Turkey, which is heavily reliant on revenue from tourism, was announced two days after Turkish President Tayyip Erdogan met with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskiy in Istanbul.

Golikova, speaking on the Russia-24 TV Channel, did not mention politics in the decision to restrict flights to Turkey, a popular destination for millions of Russian tourists.

She said the number of COVID-19 cases in Turkey had been rising.

A senior government official said earlier on Monday that Turkey’s daily coronavirus infection numbers had soared above 50,000, and Erdogan was likely to order a tightening of restrictions this week ahead of the start of the tourism season.

source reuters