Russian Federation adds five new countries to food embargo

Russia has added Iceland, a significant fish exporter, as well as Montenegro, Albania and Liechtenstein to a list of countries from which it has banned most food imports in retaliation for Western sanctions over the Ukraine crisis, Russian Prime Minister Dmitry Medvedev said on Thursday.

Russia’s counter-sanctions, now in place until August. 5, 2016, previously covered the United States, Canada, Norway, Australia and the 28 member states of the European Union.

The five countries are Albania, Montenegro, Iceland, Liechtenstein and Ukraine (with reservations), a statement said.

Authorities last week pulped hundreds of tons of cheese, vegetables and fruit as they began a campaign ordered by President Vladimir Putin to destroy food brought in despite the year-long embargo.

He also threatened on August 13 that Ukrainian products would be added to the Russian blacklist if Kyiv implemented the economic parts of its Association Agreement with the European Union.

The U.S. and the EU have imposed sanctions in response to Moscow’s annexation of Crimea and support for pro-Russian insurgents in eastern Ukraine. In June, the Kremlin extended the ban following the EU’s decision to extend its own sanctions through January.

Foreign Minister Gunnar Bragi Sveinsson told RÚV he is deeply disappointed by the ban: “We have done everything in our power to avoid landing on this list”, he said.

Only food that is unsafe to eat or of low quality should be destroyed, the draft law says.