On June 30, 2017 Russia’s President Vladimir Putin endorsed a decree prolonging counter-sanctions until the end of 2018. The decree was posted on the Kremlin website. Previously in late June, in a widely expected move the EU leaders agreed on the extension of economic sanctions against Russia at the summit in Brussels. Under the sanctions which were imposed in tandem with the US, European firms are barred from business and investments in Russia’s defense and energy industries as well as the banking sector. The Kremlin inevitably responded with a new round of the notorious food embargo that would last until the end of 2018.
The embargo on food imports from the US, EU, Australia, Norway, and Canada was introduced in Russia in August 2014. Since then, it has been extended a few times and the list of the illegal sources of food has been updated with Albania, Montenegro, Iceland, Liechtenstein, and Ukraine.
Banned food produce includes meat, milk and dairy, fish, vegetables, and fruit.
Alexander Tkachev, Russia's agriculture minister, welcomed the decision, expressing the official stance on the ban. "These counter-sanctions could be beneficial for Russia for another ten years, as they provide a very favorable effect on investment ... as well as growth in the Russian agricultural sector," Tkachev said.
