Arab E-Drive Supports Turkey Goods Against Russia Sanctions

Arab writers and activists have launched an e-campaign aimed at supporting Turkish goods in the face of Russian economic sanctions against Turkey adopted after the latter shot down a Russian warplane that violated its airspace last Tuesday.



Activists have launched various Twitter hashtags with names such as: #I_am_a_Muslim_and_in_solidarity_with_Turkey; #I_am_an_Arab_and_in_solidarity_with_Turkey; and #Supporting_the_Turkish_goods.



Activists have said via Twitter that support for Turkish goods constituted a "duty for every Arab and Muslim," going on to assert that Turkish products were "of good quality and reasonably priced", while Turkish companies were "scattered across the Arab world".



Prominent supporters of the campaign include Kuwaiti preacher Hamed al-Ali; Egyptian TV presenter Ahmed Mansour; Kuwaiti writer Faleh bin Hajari; Saudi writer Mohamed al-Hudhaif; Saudi TV presenter Ali al-Zafiri; Saudi writer Mohamed al-Yahya; Qatari writer and chief editor of Al-Sharq newspaper Jaber al-Harami; and Saudi writer Ahmed bin Rashid bin Said.



According to a statement issued by the Kremlin on Saturday, Russian President Vladimir Putin approved a raft of economic sanctions against Turkey aimed at "preventing Turkish institutions and enterprises from practicing their activities in Russia and temporarily stopping the import of certain Turkish goods".



The sanctions -- which will go into effect in January -- also forbid companies operating in Russia from employing Turkish nationals.



Putin also signed a decree unilaterally suspending visa-free travel between Russia and Turkey and forbidding Russian tourism companies from offering trips to Turkey.



The decree also halted the flight of rented aircraft between the two countries, while tightening controls over Turkish shipping companies in Russia and Turkish naval vessels operating in the Black and Azov seas.



The sanctions come after Turkish F-16 fighter jets on Nov. 24 intercepted and shot down a Russian warplane that had violated Turkish airspace near the Syrian border.



It was not the first time in recent history for Russian fighter jets to violate Turkish airspace.



In early October, Russian warplanes likewise breached Turkish airspace, for which Russian officials later apologized, pledging the incident would not be repeated. - Doha