Russia has extended the import blockade on American and European meat, fish, dairy, vegetables, and fruit for another year. President Putin imposed these sanctions in retaliation for the boycott that Western countries imposed on Russian exports following the annexation of the Ukrainian peninsula Crimea.
President Vladimir Putin has extended the embargo on food products until 2022. The Western countries also extend their sanctions every year. These measures, due to the seizure of Crimea and Russian interference in eastern Ukraine, are separate from the Dutch-Australian sanctions against Russia because of the downing of MH17.
The extension of the Russian boycott follows a presidential decree published in the official online database for legal information. The document comes into immediate effect, Agroberichtenbuitenland.nl reports.
The embargo, established in 2014, initially applied only to products from the United States, the European Union, Australia, Norway, and Canada. A year later, Albania, Montenegro, Iceland, and Liechtenstein, who had joined sanctions against Russia, were added to the list, as well as Ukraine starting January 1, 2016.
Meat and meat products, milk and dairy products, fish and fish products, and vegetables and fruit were initially banned. Since October 2017, live pigs, except for purebred breeding animals, as well as animal by-products and fats and animal oils, are also prohibited from import.
Since 2015, such Western products must even be destroyed. However, an agreement has since been made with the Russians regarding transit of food products to China and the Eurasian republics. This is only possible using Global Navigation Satellite System (GLONASS) seals and driver registration slips.