EU urges Russia to end ban on vegetable imports

The European Commission urged Russia on Thursday to lift its ban on the import of raw vegetables from EU nations over a deadly E.coli outbreak.

"The European Commission protested to the Russian Federation this afternoon against the Russian ban imposed earlier today on all EU vegetable exports to Russia, and requested the immediate withdrawal of the measure," the EU executive said in a statement.

Russia banned vegetable imports from the 27-nation bloc following an outbreak of a highly virulent strain of the E. coli bacteria that has caused at least 10 deaths.

Media reports say at least 1,600 people in 10 EU countries have been affected by the Escherichia coli outbreak, including more than 1,000 in northern Germany. Deutsche Presse Agentur reported that 17 people have died, all in Germany except one Swede who had returned home after a recent visit to Germany.

MOSCOW, June 2 (RIA Novosti)