Russia, through its PM Dmitry Medvedev, officially announced on Thursday that it had banned imports of meat, fish, milk and milk products, vegetables and fruits from the European Union and countries like Australia, Canada, Norway and the United States. This was a major decision taken by the country’s president Vladimir Putin in response to the sanctions imposed on the country by the West over the Ukraine crisis.
The ban will remain in action for a year and the decision clearly reveals that Putin practically has no intention to bow before the West amidst tremendous pressure over Ukraine. Instead, it is quite naturally presumed that it will strike back with a good intensity at the West. It also demonstrated that while pursuing its course in Ukraine, the Kremlin will be ready to inflict damage on Russia.
The Prime Minister also said that Russia is considering banning Western carriers from flying over Russia. This move can severely affect the flights to and from Asia and can swell costs with increase in flight time. Although the decision regarding this has not been drafted yet.
Medvedev strongly said that the nation looks forward that the Western counterparts will soon realise and revise its policy and stop trying to create pressure on Russia. He also argued that with this ban in action, the Russian farmers will get a good chance to increase their market share as there will be no competition from the Western products. Although experts believe that it will be very hard since the agricultural sector of the country is in a dire condition due to paucity of funds.
