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In early June, 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”.
He added that a petition to president Vladimir Putin would be prepared.
Putin has now signed the decree, which means the ban on western food imports which began in August 2014 will continue for another number of months.
Speaking to the Irish Farmers Journal in June about Russia’s intention to extend the ban, European Commissioner for Agriculture and Rural Development Phil Hogan said the news was “very disappointing”.
“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,” Hogan said. “This is very disappointing.”
Original ban
Russia originally imposed the ban on food imports from the EU, the US, Canada and several other countries in response to western sanctions on Russia in the wake of Putin’s annexation of Crimea and his country’s interference in the Ukraine conflict.
Blacklisted food imports included meat, fish, dairy, fruit and vegetables.
In late June 2015, Russia extended the embargo until 5 August 2016 and also excluded young oysters and mussels, any cheese and limited non-lactose dairy products.
In December 2015, the European Council announced that economic sanctions against Russia were extended until the end of July 2016.
Since the ban on western food imports was imposed, Russia has seen a concerted drive for agricultural self-sufficiency, with a certain degree of success.
Europe had been exporting €12bn worth of food to Russia annually prior to the embargo.
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