REUTERS
Russian Prime Minister Dmitry Medvedev says that Russia has extended its food embargo to Ukrainian products, and it will become effective if the economic provisions of the Association Agreement between Ukraine and the European Union are applied, a Russian-based UNIAN correspondent reported.
"As for Ukraine, the ban on the import of farm produce will come into effect only if the government of that country applies the economic provisions of the Association Agreement with the EU, which Kyiv signed in June of last year," Medvedev said at a government meeting on Thursday.
"We agreed for January 1 next year as the deadline for addressing issues of economic regulation. At the expiration of this deadline, if we can't come to an agreement through the mediation of the European Union, and I don't see any indication of this, then earlier adopted documents setting a normal trade regime and a food embargo for Ukraine will come into force," Medvedev said.
In his words, along with Ukraine, the extended embargo list will also include Montenegro, Albania, Iceland, and Liechtenstein.
"These countries joined the European Union's decision to extend the anti-Russian sanctions. They justify their decision by the fact that they are bound by different sorts of agreements currently in force with the EU. But this position is only partly true. I'd like to stress that a number of states that have similar agreements with the EU have not joined the sanctions against Russia," the Russian prime minister said.
Medvedev also said that joining the sanctions means "a consciously made choice, certifying readiness for retaliatory measures on our part, which have been taken."
As UNIAN reported earlier, last summer the European Union, the United States, Canada, Japan and several other countries announced new sanctions against individuals, companies and banks, as well as certain Russia's economic sectors due to its actions aimed at destabilizing the situation in Ukraine. The first stage of the sanctions was introduced in March 2014 following the Russian annexation of Ukrainian Crimea.
On August 7, 2014 the Russian government banned the import of a number of food products from the countries that had introduced or supported anti-Russian sanctions. Among the states that fell under the Russian counter-sanctions were the U.S., the EU, Canada, Australia, Norway, Switzerland, and Japan.
On June 24, Russian President Vladimir Putin announced signing of a decree on one-year extension of the restrictive measures in response to Western sanctions in effect. The food ban was extended until August 5, 2016. Putin also signed a decree on the destruction of sanctioned food products imported to Russia in violation of the food embargo.
On July 29, the EU informed that Montenegro, Albania, Iceland, Liechtenstein, Norway, and Ukraine had supported the extension of the EU economic sanctions against Russia.
On August 4, Medvedev announced that Russia was considering to expand its list of countries subject to food embargo.