MOSCOW, August 15. /TASS/. The decision to expand the list of countries subject to Russian counter-sanctions will cause no considerable influence on the balance of the domestic market, Agriculture Minister Aleksandr Tkachev, has said.
"On instructions from the Russian government to complement the list of countries subject to the ban on the import of certain types of foods the Agriculture Ministry closely studied the import flows, of course," Tkachev said. "The share of supplies according to the authorized list from Albania, Montenegro, Iceland and Lichtenstein is insignificant - about 5% for all these countries," Tkachev told Rossiiskaya Gazeta in an interview.
The expansion of the list of countries will not have a considerable impact on the balance of Russia’s domestic market, he said, adding that "the import shortfall will be compensated for with greater domestic production and import from other countries."
The decision regarding Ukraine was made on "special terms."
"The ban on the import of certain foods from that country may take effect only if the government of Ukraine applies the economic section of its agreement of association with the European Union," Tkachev explained.
Russian Prime Minister Dmitry Medvedev at last Thursday’s meeting of the Cabinet said he had signed an order to expand the list of countries under Russian counter-sanctions.
"A number of other countries, namely Albania, Montenegro, Iceland and Lichtenstein and Ukraine [on special terms] have been added to the European Union countries, Australia, Canada, Norway and the United States from where the import of certain types of farm produce was prohibited in August last year," Medvedev said, adding that earlier the five countries in question joined the EU’s decision to prolong sanctions against Russia.