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Russia will ban fruit, vegetables, meat, fish, milk and dairy imports from the United States, the European Union, Australia, Canada and Norway, Prime Minister Dmitry Medvedev told a government meeting on Thursday.
The decision follows a decree signed by President Vladimir Putin ordering the government to ban or limit food imports from countries that imposed sanctions on Moscow for its support of rebels in eastern Ukraine and the annexation of Crimea.
"There is nothing good in sanctions and it wasn't an easy decision to take, but we had to do it," Medvedev said.
The ban is valid from Aug 7 and will last for one year, he said.
Medvedev said that Russia is also considering banning Western carriers from flying over Russia on flights to and from Asia, a move that would significantly swell costs and increase flight time. He said the decision on that hasn't been made yet.
Russia may introduce restrictions regarding imports of planes, navy vessels and cars, Medvedev said, but added that the government will realistically assess its own production potential.
The US and the EU have accused Russia, which annexed Ukraine's Crimean Peninsula in March, of fomenting tensions in eastern Ukraine by supplying arms and expertise to a pro-Moscow insurgency, and have imposed asset freezes and loan bans on a score of individuals and companies.
Russia depends heavily on imported foodstuffs, most of it from the West, particularly in the largest and most prosperous cities such as Moscow. Food and agricultural imports from the US amounted to $1.3 billion last year, according to the US Department of Agriculture, and in 2013 the EU's agricultural exports to Russia totaled 11.8 billion euros $15.8 billion).
See the list of banned products here: http://government.ru/media/files/41d4f8cdfeeb731522d2.pdf
