Russia extends food trade ban to 5 more countries

Russia has extended food trade ban to five more countries, Russian Prime Minister Dmitry Medvedev announced Thursday.

The five countries are Albania, Montenegro, Iceland, Liechtenstein and Ukraine (with reservations), according to the document published at the government website.

Among the countries, Albania carries no trade with Russia in the agricultural sector.

"These countries have sided with the European Union (EU) about extension of anti-Russian sanctions, claiming they must introduce them due to various agreements with the EU," Medvedev said at a government meeting.

He added these explanations were "only partly true."

Some countries that have similar agreements with the EU have not participated in the sanctions, so joining the sanctions is a deliberate choice, Medvedev said.

Moscow introduced the first batch of counter-sanction measures in August 2014 in retaliation for their anti-Russian sanctions introduced due to Russia's takeover of Crimea and its alleged role in the ongoing Ukraine crisis.

In June 2015, EU extended its sanctions against Russia for one year. On Aug. 6, Russia started to destroy foods from the blacklisted countries by the order of President Vladimir Putin.