Russia Halts Flights to Turkey, Tanzania over Virus

Russia announced Monday it is suspending air links with Turkey and Tanzania for six weeks as they experience a surge in Covid-19 cases.

The suspension in flights will last from April 15 until June 1, the deputy prime minister for health, Tatiana Golikova, said during a televised briefing.

She said the virus situation has been worsening in Turkey since early March and many Russians were being infected there and returning home.

Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov told the Ria Novosti news agency that this decision is not linked to the meeting Saturday between Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky and his Turkish counterpart Recep Tayyip Erdogan, with the latter expressing his opposition to Russia's annexation of Crimea.

Turkey is a top tourist destination for Russians, with millions travelling there every year.

Moscow re-established air links with Turkey and Tanzania in July 2020, four months after their suspension and the closure of Russian borders because of the pandemic.

Since the start of the pandemic, Russia's borders have remained closed but have gradually been reopened to citizens from some 20 countries.