Russian Federation Bans Food From 4 More Countries

Russia, which has been destroying brie and different banned Western meals, might have to rev up the bulldozers once more to maintain tempo with a rising listing of prohibited imports.

Prime Minister DmitryMedvedev announced Russian Federation was banning food products from Albania, Montenegro, Liechtenstein and Iceland in retaliation for their backing of Brussels’ sanctions over the Ukraine crisis and Russia’s annexation of the Crimea peninsula.

“Joining the sanctions is a conscious choice which means readiness for retaliatory measures from our part, which have been adopted”, Mr Medvedev said in comments broadcast on state-owned channel Rossiya 24.

Russia’s food ban, which covers imports such as meat, dairy products, fruit and vegetables, will be in place until August 2016.

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

Agriculture Minister Otar Danelia said that any market, including the Russian one is important for Georgia, adding that “diversification of export markets is a priority”.

Food produce from Australia, Canada, Norway, and the US has been banned since August 2014.

“Any positive decision that can benefit the country is welcomed”, he added.

He said “the real threat” is that Russian Federation will axe its overall free trade agreement with Ukraine, hitting exports across the board.

Russia, earlier this month, began bulldozing and burning stockpiles of seized EU food and of Dutch flowers, which are subject to a separate ban.

Levada, an independent pollster, says 48 percent of Russians don’t support food destruction, but 40 percent do.