GORKI, August 18. /ITAR-TASS/. Russian Prime Minister Dmitry Medvedev said on Monday he hopes Russian sanctions will not remain in force for a long time.

"Hopefully, they /Russia-imposed sanctions/ will not last for very long", he said at a meeting with his deputies.

Russia introduced sanctions ten days ago in forced retaliation, he reminded adding that the measures should not hurt the interests of Russian consumers, impact the food market situation or provoke price hikes.

Russian Prime Minister Dmitry Medvedev gave instructions on Monday to look for alternative suppliers of food products in the wake of Russia’s embargo on food imports from western countries.

No turmoil can be expected on the domestic food market in the wake of Russia’s ban on food imports from western countries, Vice-Premier Arkady Dvorkovich said on Monday.

“There are actually no serious upheavals on the market,” Dvorkovich said.

“The list of suppliers has been considerably extended and therefore we don’t expect any considerable price increase in the next two or three months or there will be no price rises at all and the situation will remain stable,” Dvorkovich said.