REUTERS
Russia may withdraw from the World Trade Organization (WTO) in case the European Union's claim is satisfied to recover EUR 1.39 billion a year over the restriction of pork imports, as stated by the first deputy head of the economic committee of the Russian Federation Council, Sergey Kalashnikov, RIA Novosti reported.
The official stressed that the EU's introduction of sanctions against Russia and the "retaliatory embargo" on food supplies from the EU are "completely beyond the logic" of the WTO-related legislation.
"If the EU's suit is satisfied, we will probably have to limit our participation in the World Trade Organization, possibly fully," said Kalashnikov.
"Sanctions are totally not in line with the rules of the World Trade Organization," he said.
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It is noted that the EU estimates the annual losses from the ban on exports of pork in Russia at EUR 1.4 billion.
"Last year, the WTO recognized this ban as illegal, but the Russian Federation never abolished it, explaining this by the food-related counter-sanctions, which were introduced a few months later," the publication stresses.