State Duma refrains from banning travel to Turkey

Last night MPs dismissed the draft law on “The necessity to provide security to Russian tourists”, put forward by the Duma’s deputy chairman and the head of the Liberal Democrats Vladimir Zhirinovsky. According to the statement published on the official website of the Federal Assembly, only 105 deputies supported the draft, which wasn’t enough for it to go through.

Vladimir Zhirinovsky has been calling to ban trips to Turkey for some time now. While the head of the Federation Council’s (upper house of Parliament) committee on youth matters and tourism, Vladimir Zhidkikh, proposed redirecting the flow of Russian tourists from Turkey to Greece. Just before the Duma headed off on the summer vacation, a group of deputies put forward a statement, which also included prohibiting citizens from traveling to Turkey. The document claimed the country didn’t have an effective mechanism to provide security for tourists.