Russia: No plans to reconsider food sanctions list

Russia’s Agriculture Ministry said on Friday it is not ready to reconsider the list of products Russia banned from entry in response to Western sanctions over events in Ukraine.
“We are very careful about the possibility of liberalising the list for no legitimate reasons, neither domestic nor foreign political,” Agriculture Minister Nikolai Fyodorov told TASS, noting that the ministry has received many requests for excluding certain products from the list.
There have to be very strong reasons for easing the sanctions and this should not only be expressed in words but also in a changed attitude among the countries that imposed sanctions against Russia, the minister said.
“This is the main condition,” he said. “We are waiting for them to come to their senses and reassess their perception of Russia in a civilised way.”
Russia banned imports of meat, fish, dairy, fruit and vegetables from the United States, the 28-nation European Union, Australia, Canada and Norway for one year in early August, retaliating for sanctions imposed by these nations.
Certain restrictions were eased later in the month to allow the import of some items necessary for the country’s food and agriculture industries, such as vegetables for planting and hatchlings of salmon and trout.