MOSCOW, January 13. /TASS/. Even if and when the Russian counter-sanctions are lifted foreign providers’ return to the Russian market will not be automatic, deputy chief of Russia’s agriculture watchdog, Aleksey Alekseyenko, told the media on the sidelines of the Gaidar Economic Forum in Moscow on Friday.
Deputy Prime Minister Igor Shuvalov said earlier in the day the food import embargo might be lifted on December 31, 2017.
"This will be very difficult, indeed, because much time has passed and many changes have occurred. In a word, there will be no automatic return to the list of providers that had existed before the introduction of our economic measures," he said.
When the process of reopening the Russian market to providers in the countries under sanctions begins, the Russian agriculture watchdog will begin to send its delegations for on-site inspections.
"This is a rather intricate and time-consuming process, the more so, since this year we are to cut the spending on the inspections of foreign businesses," Alekseyenko said.
It is not ruled out that Russia will not prolong its counter-sanctions if a warming in relations with the West follows, Shuvalov told the Gaidar Economic Forum earlier on Friday. Also, producers should not expect that the government after the lifting of counter-sanctions will take some protectionist measures, Shuvalov said.