Russian Deputy Foreign Minister Sergei Ryabkov accused the United States of pressuring Turkey’s national airline to prevent Russian citizens from boarding flights to Mexico.
A Turkish Airlines TC-JVV Boeing 737-800 taxis for takeoff at Riga International Airport, Latvia, January 17, 2020. REUTERS/Ints Kalnins
His comments came after the Moscow embassy in Ankara this week complained that some Russian passengers were being indiscriminately denied boarding on Turkish Airlines flights from Istanbul to some Latin American countries.
“If we talk specifically about Mexico, then the reason, I think, is easy to guess,” the state news agency TASS quoted Ryabkov as saying on Wednesday. “It lies in the pressure that Washington puts on the authorities of this country.”
He provided no evidence for this accusation.
Two industry sources told Reuters they believed Turkish Airlines was acting at the behest of the United States in an attempt to stop Russian immigration flows to the country’s southern border.
“Turkish Airlines was somehow pressured, persuaded or intimidated into being so strict,” said Artur Muradyan, vice president of international tourism at the Russian Association of Tour Operators, an industry group.
“I think they are under pressure from the US.”
A second source, who requested anonymity, said: “(Turkish Airlines) thinks people are flying (to Latin America) to cross the border into the US.” Most of the Russians who were denied boarding were flying to Mexico, the source added.
The US State Department did not respond to Reuters’ request for comment. Turkey’s Foreign Ministry and Turkish Airlines were unavailable for comment.
Migration flow
At least 73,000 Russians have attempted to enter the U.S. through official southern border crossings over the past two years, part of a migration surge since the outbreak of armed conflict in Ukraine in February 2022, according to Customs and Border Protection.
Sources told Reuters that over the past two to three months, about 1,000 Russian travelers have been denied boarding on flights departing from Istanbul airport to a number of destinations in Latin America.
The Russian Embassy in Ankara spoke out against the practice in several statements this week, but did not specify when the practice began or how many passengers were denied boarding.
The embassy said airline officials turning away passengers cited restrictions imposed by destination countries, including having a valid proof of hotel stay or proof of a return ticket.
Contacted by Reuters for comment, the Russian embassy said it had nothing to add to the published comments.
Prepared by ProFinance.Ru based on materials from Thomson Reuters
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Tags: Russia accuses putting pressure Turkish Airlines ban Russians flying Mexico
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