Symbolically, Wednesday's match will take place in the Turkish resort of Antalya, which was hardest hit by the outflow of Russian tourists in the wake of the deterioration of ties between Moscow and Ankara late last year.
"Both the timing and the venue of the Turkey-Russia game on Aug. 31, in the resort province of Antalya, attach great meaning to the friendly match — making it more than just preparation for their respective FIFA World Cup Qualifying Group campaigns," according to Hurriyet.
The newspaper specifically pointed to the fact that the Wednesday exhibition game comes a few weeks after the strengthening of ties between Moscow and Ankara, which were tarnished by the crisis caused Turkey downing a Russian warplane for allegedly violating its airspace on the Syrian border in November 2015.
Bilateral relations started to improve in late June 2016, when Russian President Vladimir Putin received a letter of apology regarding the incident from his Turkish counterpart Recep Tayyip Erdogan.
"The two countries are now seeking ways for joint action against ISIL [Daesh/ISIS] in Syria, building a joint mechanism," Hurriyet pointed out.
Also, the newspaper drew attention to the fact that it is Antalya, "one of the leading tourism spots in Turkey," which will host the Wednesday match. Hurriyet recalled that Antalya had been the top destination for Russian tourists visiting Turkey until Moscow banned tour operators from doing business with Ankara due to strained bilateral ties.
"While more than 573,000 Russian tourists visited Antalya in July 2015, this figured had plunged to just 10,090 in July 2016," the newspaper said.
Last Sunday, the Russian government officially signed a decree lifting the existing restrictions on charter flights to Turkey following the current rapprochement.
As for the Wednesday match, it is expected to be attended by about 2,000 Russian fans, according to media reports which earlier said that President Putin might fly to Turkey to visit the match. However, the Kremlin refuted the claims, saying that the President would be "rooting from home."
Earlier this week, Russian Sports Minister and Head of the Football Union of Russia Vitaly Mutko said that Turkish authorities will guarantee safety and security during the upcoming game.
"The relations with the Turkish side are being stabilized, the flight restrictions are being removed. All the safety guarantees With respect to the Russia-Turkey match have been given by the Turkish authorities. I also have plans to visit [the match]. I think that everything will be fine," he said.
