SIMFEROPOL, July 31. /ITAR-TASS/. Crimea’s winemakers are asking Russian leaders to impose restrictions on imports of European alcoholic drinks, according to a petition from the Crimean Grapes and Wine Bureau made available at ITAR-TASS on Thursday.

Yanina Pavlenko, the Bureau’s head, said that this move would be an equivalent answer to European sanctions; moreover, it would encourage the domestic winemaking sector growth. “Such fair measures will make it possible for Crimean winemakers to make up for adverse impacts of the European Union’s sanctions and the Russian winemaking sector in general will be given an extra impetus for further growth,” Pavlenko said in a letter.

The EU Council has imposed sectoral sanctions against Russia applicable among others to Crimea’s leading wineries — Massandra, Novy Svet, Magarach, and Azov Distillery.