European Commissioner for Agriculture and Rural Development Phil Hogan confirmed the extension of the ban to the Irish Farmers Journal and RTÉ’s Countrywide programme in the Netherlands on Tuesday.

“We can lift the ban in the morning if President Putin decides to do so but, as you see in recent days, he’s decided to extend the ban for another 18 months,” Hogan said. He added that the news was “very disappointing”.

Jean-Claude Juncker, president of the European Commission, will be meeting President Putin in St Petersburg next week to see “if he can normalise trade and relationships” between the two blocs, but Hogan said he “would not be optimistic” about the meeting given the announcement of the ban’s extension in recent days.

Russia introduced the ban on imports of food from the EU, Australia, the US, Canada and Norway in August 2014 following sanctions imposed on Russia relating to the conflict in Crimea. The initial ban was introduced in 2014 for a year and was extended by another 12 months in July 2015. Europe had been exporting some €12bn worth of food to Russia prior to the embargo.

Speaking before a meeting of the Russian Union of Industrialists and Entrepreneurs last week, Russian prime minister Dmitry Medvedev confirmed that he had instructed his minister “to prepare a proposal to extend counter-sanction measures not for one year, but until the end of 2017. A petition to the president will be prepared.”

He added that Russian “agricultural companies have repeatedly asked to continue the embargo on agricultural products from countries” in order to continue its drive for self-sufficiency.

Last week, Brussels-based publication Agra Facts reported that Russia was expected to send a list of its key demands to Brussels within one month, as Moscow is seeking quid pro quo for a potential easing of the ban, an easing which now appears unlikely to occur any time soon.

Listen to the full interview with Commissioner Hogan on RTÉ’s Countrywide programme with Damien O’Reilly this Saturday.

Additional reporting by Patrick Donohoe

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