Moscow will soon send a delegation to Turkey to discuss the steep tariffs Ankara recently imposed on certain Russian agricultural products, Russian Deputy Economy Minister Alexei Gruzdev told reporters April 24.

Russian businesses were surprised on March 15 when Turkey began collecting a 130% import tax on Russian products including wheat, corn and sunflower oil. In Russia, the tax is viewed as tantamount to a sanction on its goods.

“With such prohibitive taxes, the deliveries could be stopped,” said Dmitry Rylko, the head of the Moscow-based Institute for Agricultural Market Studies, in an interview with Russian news agency Interfax.

Russian Minister of Agriculture Alexander Tkachev also expressed concern and surprise on the ministry’s website March 22. He added that he was disappointed in his Turkish colleagues, as both countries had agreed on the necessity of normalizing bilateral trade ties. Tkachev also said that Ankara’s actions call into question its intention to build strong relations with Russia. On the same day, Russian Deputy Prime Minister Arkady Dvorkovich told Turkish Deputy Prime Minister Mehmet Simsek by telephone that Ankara's action is hindering the restoration of ties.