Turkish-owned Swissotel Krasnye Kholmy, an upscale hotel in central Moscow, ceased taking reservations on Dec. 30, 2015, following Russian sanctions against Turkey, the RBC news agency reported Thursday, citing hotel staff.
Located on Kosmodamianskaya Naberezhnaya near the Paveletskaya metro station, the hotel is operated by the Swiss company Swissotel Hotels & Resorts, but is owned by the Turkish company Enka, which is subject to restrictions imposed by the Russian government on Turkish businesses in Russia, the report said.
These restrictions, adopted by the authorities on Dec. 29, were the reason the hotel suspended its operations, Eva-Maria Panzer, spokeswoman for the Swissotel Hotels & Resorts in the European region told RBC.
"Right now we are trying to find out from the authorities how the economic sanctions [could] influence our business," she was quoted by the news agency as saying.
The rooms and other hotel services remain available for those who made reservations prior to Dec. 30, an unidentified hotel staff member told RBC.
Russia introduced a package of sanctions against Turkey in late November 2015, after Turkish fighter jets shot down a Russian fighter-bomber near the Turkish-Syrian border on Nov. 24.
The measures included a ban on charter flights to Turkey from Dec. 1, 2015 and the suspension of visa-free travel for Turkish nationals from Jan. 1.
In addition, Russia prohibited the import of many Turkish food products and imposed a ban on hiring Turkish nationals.
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