MOSCOW, August 6 (RIA Novosti) — Russia plans to 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, Russia’s agricultural and veterinary watchdog Rosselkhoznadzor said Wednesday.
“Everything [in the agricultural sector] that is produced and imported to Russia from the United States will be banned,” Alexey Alekseenko, an aide to the head of the Federal Service for Veterinary and Phytosanitary Surveillance told RIA Novosti.
“Fruits and vegetables from the European Union will also be under full ban," Alekseenko said.
He added that the complete imports “black list” is expected to announced on Thursday and will be “very substantial.”
Russian President Vladimir Putin signed a decree earlier on 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.
