Turkey and Russia may conclude free trade agreement by year’s end - Turkish minister says

ANTALYA, April 22 /TASS/. Turkey and Russia are not facing any particularly difficulties in the process of preparing a Turkish-Russian free trade agreement, Turkish Minister of Economy Nihat Zeybekci told TASS on Wednesday. We feel extremely positive about the prospect of concluding a free trade agreement, especially in three spheres such as the service sector, investments and state purchases. We do not see any great problems. I hope that all the work will be finished by year’s end, the Turkish minister stressed. Zeybekci said that the Turkish side was planning to make substantial progress in question of transition to settlements in national currencies by the end of 2015. There are no key obstacles here. There are just key aspects, which should be discussed. It is necessary to develop the infrastructure. The Central Banks /in the two countries/ should create special departments and lay down regulatory framework," the Turkish minister said noting that special attention should be paid to the fluctuation of national currency rates. "Measures should be taken to protect private companies from the impact of fluctuating currency rates. I hope to achieve good results on this issue by year end," the Turkish minister stressed. Read more