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Rioting in Kiev interferes with specialists’ efforts to fight African swine fever

MOSCOW, January 29, (ITAR-TASS). Destabilization of the work of state authorities in Ukraine might seriously affect Ukraine’s pork exports to Russia, Sergei Dankvert, the head of Rosselkhoznadzor, the Federal veterinary and phytosanitary watchdog, told Itar-Tass on the basis of telephone talks with Ukrainian deputy minister of agroindustrial policy Ivan Besyuk.

The Ukrainian deputy minister confirmed that there was an outbreak of African swine fever in Ukraine’s Lugansk region in January 2014, Dankvert said. “When 28 hogs were shot, five test samples proved positive,” he said. “The sides agreed that Ukraine would localize the spread of the disease on its territory,” he noted. “I was given assurance that this work will be done promptly,” he said.

He said that, according to Besyuk, officials are returning to the building of the Ministry of Agroindustrial Policy in Kreschatik street that was damaged when being seized by protesters. “The building is much damaged. The officials face a large workload but the events taking place there might affect the pace of their work and pork exports to Russia,” Dankvert holds.

The talks also addressed joint actions of Ukraine and Russia regarding the outbreak of African swine fever on the territory of the European Union. “Unless Kiev coordinates with us its approach to pork imports from the European Union, we will have to impose restrictions on pork imports from Ukraine,” Dankvert said. “The sides agreed that Ukraine will consider the situation and will be taking due measures,” he said.

Rosselkhoznadzor stated earlier that, in accordance with international arrangements, the European Union has no right to issue veterinary certificates on pork, if there are facts of contamination with African swine fever. However, veterinary supervision bodies in the EU so far take no measures to localize infected territories.

The first outbreak of African swine fever occurred in Ukraine’s Zaporozhye region in 2012.