Putin approves economic sanctions against Turkey after downing of fighter jet

Putin approves economic sanctions against Turkey after 

downing of fighter jet

File photo of Russian President Vladimir Putin

MOSCOW, Nov. 28 -- Russian President Vladimir Putin on Saturday signed a decreeimposing economic sanctions against Turkey after Turkey shot down a Russian warplanenear the Syrian-Turkish border Tuesday.

The presidential decree, which was posted at the website of the Kremlin, said a ban ofcharter flights from Russia to Turkey will be introduced, and Russian tourism operatorsshould stop selling tour packages to Turkey.

The decree, which became effective immediately on the date of publication, was entitled"On measures to ensure Russia's national security and protect Russian citizens fromcriminal and other illegal activities and the application of special economic measuresagainst Turkey."

In accordance with the decree, Turkish companies of transportation shall be restricted intheir operations in Russian territories, with Turkish ships and boats being banned fromstaying at or navigating across Russian ports, while import of certain goods from Turkeywill be halted.

The visa-free travel regime between Russia and Turkey is also formally suspended andTurkish citizens, except Turkish diplomats and their dependents and those with temporarypermits of residence, are not allowed to enter Russia starting Jan. 1, 2016, according to thedecree.

Russian employers are ordered not to extend contracts with Turkish nationals and willface restrictions in this regard.

Putin instructed Russian Foreign Ministry to inform the Turkish side of the contents of thedecree and ordered the government to prepared a detailed list of goods, firms and jobsthat would be impacted.

Russia's move came after Turkey shot down Russia's fighter jet Tuesday, with the latterclaiming that the Russian warplane violated Turkish airspace, which Moscow vehementlydenied and insisted the Su-24 fighter jet stayed over Syria during its flight.

Putin had warned that Turkey's downing of the Russian fighter jet would have seriousconsequences for bilateral ties. Moscow had vowed to take measures in response toTurkey's downing of the Russian warplane.

Putin on Thursday demanded an apology from the Turkish leadership and a compensationfor the damage, while Russian Prime Minister Dmitry Medvedev ordered the relevantgovernment departments to prepare the draft of possible economic sanctions againstTurkey.

Earlier on Saturday, Turkish Foreign Ministry issued a travel warning, urging Turkishnationals to postpone their visits to Russia unless absolutely necessary, while TurkishPresident Recep Tayyip Erdogan voiced regret over the incident, saying his country was"truly saddened" by the incident and wished it hadn't occurred.

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Massive Gold Deposit found 2000 meters Undersea in Shandong

A mega-sized gold deposit with 470.47 tons of reserves was found in Laizhou, east ‪China‬’s Shandong province, announced the Shandong Provincial No. 3 Institute of Geological and Mineral Survey on Monday. The gold deposit was 2000 meters under the north coastal water near Sanshan Island. It is the largest and ever first undersea gold mine found in China.

According to Ding Zhengjiang, the vice director of the said institute, the gold deposit is part of a crablike ore belt that lies deep at the sea bottom. Invested by Laizhou Ruihai Mining Ltd, the marine ground investigation took three years and involved over 120 kilometers of drilling, with 67 sea drilling platforms and nearly 1,000 geological workers at most.

“It’s very difficult to locate and set up the drilling platforms at sea,” Ding said. In 2012, the first platform took 24 hours to be constructed, and now it took only 8 hours with more advanced offshore construction technology. “Besides, drilling holes into underground rocks that are more than 1000 meters deep is a big challenge,” said the project manager Zhang Junjin. “Normally in China, gold mine prospection is conducted within 800 meters underground. The discovery of a gold deposit lying 2000 meters undersea provides new drilling technology for future gold mining,” Zhang added.

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