MOSCOW, August 7 (RIA Novosti) - All the “black lists” of foreign goods imported to Russia from the countries that imposed sanctions on Russia, are yet to be discussed by the government and so far are nothing more than proposals, Prime Minister Dmitry Medvedev’s press secretary Natalia Timakova said.
“All the black lists are so far draft documents. The issue will be discussed by the government at the level of the country’s Prime Minister today [Thursday],” Timakova said.
According to the Prime Minister’s press secretary, all the allegedly existing lists of products are nothing more than the proposals made by different governmental structures and currently discussed at the government.
Russia’s agricultural and veterinary watchdog Rosselkhoznadzor said Wednesday that Moscow would impose a ban on imports of all agricultural products from the United States, as well as fruits and vegetables from all the countries of the European Union.
An aide to the head of the Federal Service for Veterinary and Phytosanitary Surveillance Alexey Alekseenko said that the complete imports "black list" is expected to be announced on Thursday and will be “very substantial."
Russian President Vladimir Putin signed a decree Wednesday banning for a year imports of agricultural and food products from countries that imposed sanctions on Russia.
The European Union, the United States, Canada and Japan have compiled sanctions lists against Russian companies, banks, politicians, freezing their bank accounts, banning them entry and refusing to buy Russian goods. The move has been linked to the ongoing conflict in Ukraine.
Since March, the European Union has imposed a total of nine rounds of sanctions, with two of them against the former Ukrainian leadership and seven against Russia. Washington has adopted a total of six rounds of anti-Russian sanctions.
Moscow has repeatedly called the measures counterproductive and stressed that Russia was never involved in the Ukrainian conflict.
