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Russia develops draft resolution on destruction of exported food subject to embargo

As TASS reported earlier, the Russian President agreed with the proposition of the Agriculture Ministry to take measures for on-site destruction of items subject to food embargo exported to Russia

MOSCOW, July 28. /TASS/. The Russian Agriculture Ministry has developed a draft resolution on the destruction of exported items to Russia subject to the food embargo. The draft is currently undergoing the approval procedure in the Russian government, the Ministry’s press service told TASS.

"The draft resolution is developed, which includes the rules for the destruction procedure of exported items to Russia subject to the food embargo," the Ministry said.

According to the Ministry’s plan, such items are subject to immediate destruction after all appropriate acts and protocols are drawn up. The decision will be taken by the officials of the Russian Federal Customs Service, the Russian Federal Service for Veterinary and Phytosanitary Surveillance, and The Russian Federal Service for Supervision of Consumer Rights Protection and Human Well-Being, who found the evidence of smuggled goods.

As TASS reported earlier, the Russian President Vladimir Putin agreed with the proposition of the Agriculture Ministrer Alexander Tkachev to take measures for on-site destruction of the items subject to food embargo exported to Russia.

"Let’s agree to the Minister’s proposition," he said at the government meeting. "I am asking the administration [Presidential - TASS] and the government to work out the issue with lawyers and to propose corresponding solutions," Putin said.

Prime Minister Dmitry Medvedev also supported the measures.

On June 24 Russia’s President Vladimir Putin has signed a decree to extend Russia’s counter sanctions for one year from August 6, 2015.

"To extend the effect of specific economic measures, foreseen by clause 1 of the Presidential decree dated August 6, 2014, N 560 "Executive Order on special economic measures to protect Russia’s security" for one year starting from August 6, 2015", according to the statement on the Kremlin website.

On August 1, 2014, the EU imposed sanctions against the Russian Federation in connection with the events in Ukraine and the reunification of Crimea with Russia and later repeatedly extended them. The latest decision to extend them was made on June 22 of this year.

Russia imposed a package of countermeasures on August 7, 2014, in response to the sanctions introduced by the United States, Australia, Canada, the European Union and Norway over Moscow’s stance on developments in neighboring Ukraine.

Russia’s countermeasures involved a one-year ban on the import of vegetables and fruit, dairy and meat products from these countries.

On June 22 the EU Council at the foreign ministers’ level extended the economic sanctions against Russia for six months until January 31, 2016. The decision comes in an effort to implement in full the February 12 Minsk agreements on Ukraine, a spokeswoman for the council’s external affairs service, Susanne Kiefer said.

On June 24, Russian President Vladimir Putin signed a decree on extendeding Russia’s counter-sanctions against EU countries, the US, Canada, Australia and Norway through August 5, 2016. According to the document the Russian government excludes young mussels, spat and young trout from the food embargo list.

Additionally the Russian Government toughened requirements for lactose-free production in the framework of the food embargo. Now these products can be imported to Russia only if they are certified as medical and preventive production.

The rest of the list subject to counter-sanctions remained unchanged. It includes beef, chicken, pork, dairy products, live, chilled and frozen fish and shellfish, nuts, fruits and vegetables.

Biologically active dietary supplements, sports, children's and preventive nutrition, salmon spawn, potatoes seed, planting onion, sugar beet and peas for planting are excluded from the list.