Earlier in July, Slovenian Foreign Minister Karl Erjavec said that a 40-percent decline in trade between his country and Russia had been recorded.
"Slovenian agriculture incurs losses, mainly due to the ban on the export of apples, milk and dairy products, poultry and meat products," Primoz Seligo told RIA Novosti, stressing that both Russian exports and Slovenian imports declined last year.
In 2015, a larger decline in turnover could be expected due to the sanctions, Seligo added.
"All mentioned notwithstanding, Slovenian companies still consider the Russian market as very promising," the ambassador said, stressing that Russia is a key Slovenian trade partner.
Over the past year and a half, the West imposed several rounds of sanctions against Russia over the Ukraine crisis. Moscow firmly denied the allegations, and responded with a ban on Western food imports.
In late June, the European Union extended sanctions imposed on Russia. Shortly after that, Moscow prolonged a food embargo already in place.
Both Russian and European officials have repeatedly stressed that Western business incurs immense losses due to the anti-Russian sanctions.
