Opinions & Interviews

MINSK, 12 August (BelTA) – Belarus will not allow re-export of food products banned by Russia since it fully supports the desire of the Eastern neighbor to protect its home market, Belarus’ Agriculture and Food Minister Leonid Zayats said as he met with Head of the Federal Service for Veterinary and Phytosanitary Surveillance (Rosselkhoznadzor) Sergei Dankvert on 12 August, BelTA has learned.

The sides discussed a number of issues. For example, Sergei Dankvert said that the Russian Federation is concerned over the cases of low quality of agricultural import from third countries. These cases have become frequent recently. Leonid Zayats, in turn, noted that Belarus has strengthened control over the safety of goods moved across the state border.

As was reported earlier, on 6 August Russia’s President Vladimir Putin signed the Executive Order On Special Economic Measures to Protect the Russian Federation’s Security. This document imposes immediate bans, for one year, on imports of certain agricultural products originating from the countries that supported anti-Russian sanctions. The document reads that these measures are aimed to protect the national interests of the Russian Federation. The document bans the import of pork, beef, poultry, fish, cheese, milk, fruits and vegetables from Australia, Canada, the European Union, the United States, and Norway.