(VOVworld) - Russian Prime Minister Dmitry Medvedev signed a decree on Tuesday authorizing special economic sanctions against Turkey. This is Russia’s response to Turkey’s downing of a Russian warplane in Syria. Russian news agency TASS reported that the decision was publicly posted on the Russian government website and will take effect on January 1^st, 2016. The sanctions include a halt in the work of the joint Russian-Turkish Intergovernmental Commission on Trade and Economic Cooperation, a ban on many agricultural products imported from Turkey, and a ban on Russian employers hiring Turkish citizens.