Russia Imposes Embargo on Greek Agricultural Products

English: vegetables (credit: Wikipedia)

UPDATE - Baby food and alcoholic drinks, including wine, have been excluded from the embargo the Russian government decided to impose on imports from EU countries, the United States, Australia, Canada and Norway. The ban on Greek goods exported to Russia will not apply on olive oil and olives.

Russian President Vladimir Putin has decided to introduce a provision that will more or less “ban and/or restrict” the import of agricultural products from countries that have imposed economic sanctions against the Russian Federation.

As such, the decision is expected to affect all EU member-states and set to have a direct effect on the Greek economy as well since the Russian market is a significant importer of Greek produce.

According to an article in TO VIMA, the decision has caused major concern in Greece, with the Ministry of Agricultural Development and the Ministry of Foreign Affairs discussing the matter in order to lessen the blow to the economy.

It should be reminded that Russia does not have a formal trade agreement with the European Union, but rather has formulated individual agreements with each member-state. As such the Greek side wants to determine its standing – whether an outright ban or restriction are in place –.

In such a context, a meeting, with the participation of Greek industry representatives is scheduled take place on Thursday at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs in order to analyze the situation.

Last week newly-appointed Russian ambassador in Athens Andrei Maslov was summoned by Deputy Foreign Affairs Minister Michalos in order to discuss the issue, said the Greek paper. During their meeting the Greek side underlined that it has observed a “moderate” and “reasonable attitude” during the Russian-Ukrainian crisis and maintained a moderate stance since it somewhat depends on the Russian Federation for natural gas and oil.

Another dilemma of course is the import of military equipment, since the Hellenic Armed Forces own a large number of Russian made weapons systems (such as the Tor-M1 and S-300 defense systems). If the embargo is imposed then this might just affect their upkeep.