MOSCOW, November 18. /TASS/. The Russian agricultural watchdog Rosselkhoznadzor has banned the imports of meat products from Montenegro over suspected attempts to smuggle products from the EU, assistant to the Rosselkhoznadzor head Alexey Alexeyenko said on Tuesday.

“Illegal re-exports of meat products from European Union countries are the main cause for the ban,” he said. “Meat product deliveries from Montenegro have risen significantly lately, in volumes which the country could not produce by itself,” the assistant to the Rosselkhoznadzor head said.

Montenegro mainly supplied pork and pork products to Russia. “Montenegro was not a major player on the market of imported meat products. The ban will not do harm to the range of imported products,” he said.

Russia introduced a package of counter-measures on August 7 in retaliation to the sanctions imposed by the United States, Australia, Canada, the European Union and Norway against Moscow over its stance on developments in neighboring Ukraine.

Russia’s counter-sanctions involve a one-year ban on food and agricultural imports from the countries that slapped sanctions against Moscow.