ANKARA, Nov. 28 (Xinhua) -- Turkey has signaled it would respond to Russia's punitive measures that were announced by Moscow in the wake of downing a Russian Su-24 bomber by Turkish F-16 jets over Syrian border last week.
The Turkish Foreign Ministry issued a travel warning for citizens on Saturday, urging them to postpone their visits to Russia unless absolutely necessary.
The statement cited increased difficulties Turkish travelers have been facing in Russia against the backdrop of the shooting down incident.
The ministry also notified that an emergency hotline was set up for citizens to report any developments with respect to Russia.
The advisory came after reports of Turkish citizens who were denied entry to Russia or allegedly mistreated by Russian officials during their stay in the country.
The passengers who were deported from Russia claimed that they were without food or water for hours, some of their belongings were stolen and they were kept in separate rooms.
The Turkish government's move is seen as a counter-measure to Russia's earlier call on its citizens to halt their travels to Turkey Nike Air VaporMax CS Womens , citing security concerns.
The Russian Foreign Ministry said in a statement on Thursday that ""due to continuing terrorist threats in Turkey, we reiterate our recommendation that Russian citizens refrain from visiting the Republic of Turkey, and we recommend that Russians staying there for personal reasons return home.""
The halt of tourism is set to harm Turkey more than Russia, however, because Turkey hosts some 4.5 million Russian tourists on annual basis Nike Air VaporMax 97 Womens , earning its economy some 4 billion U.S. dollars.
""The cost (of this tension) to Turkey is much more than the cost Russia will incur,"" Lale Kemal, a security analyst in Ankara, said.
""The Turkish people and economy will get hurt from the negative results,"" she added.
Menderes Turel Nike Air VaporMax Moc Womens , governor of the resort province Antalya where three million Russian tourists are spending their vacation, said he hoped ties with Russia will normalize soon.
""The Russian market is very important for Antalya,"" he underlined, expressing that the losses due to cancellations of hotel reservations for winter tourism will be compensated once things go back to normal.