Russian President Vladimir Putin on Wednesday extended to the end of 2017 Moscow''s embargo on food items from the West imposed in retaliation for sanctions over Ukraine. A decree posted in the official government database states that the existing embargo on produce, dairy, meat, and most other foods will be extended to December 31, 2017. Russia has since August 2014 banned most foods imports from the European Union and other countries, including the United States, which imposed sanctions on Moscow over its 2014 annexation of Crimea and support of east Ukraine''s separatists.
The food embargo was extended for a year in 2015 and the Russian government said in May that it had drawn up a plan to extend them again until 2018. EU ambassadors last week agreed to roll over their economic sanctions against Russia to January 2017 due to the lack progress on a peace process to end the fighting in east Ukraine. The sanctions, as well as Moscow''s own embargo, have impacted the Russian economy, with the embargo pushing food prices up and quality down, but also giving a boost for some domestic producers.