On 24 November 2015 , there was an incident with Russian military aircraft . In response , the Russian president signed a decree " On measures to ensure the national security of the Russian Federation ... and the use of special economic measures against the Republic of Turkey " . Paragraph 2 of the decree suspended the visa-free regime for holders of ordinary passports from 1 January 2016 . The head of the State Duma 's international affairs committee said the suspension would remain in effect , " until Turkey stops helping ISIS " . Russia 's ambassador to Turkey said that conditions for normalizing relations would include " an apology from the Turkish authorities , a search for the perpetrators and to bring them to justice , and that Turkey would pay compensation for damages "
incident with Russian military aircraft
2015 Russian Sukhoi Su-24 shootdown
Visa history of Russia