Russia: Putin orders EU fruit and veg ban

Russian President Vladimir Putin has banned imports from countries imposing sanctions on Russia.

The measures will affect agricultural products and will last one year.

Putin ordered his government to come up with a specific list of goods to be banned, the Kremlin said.

Top of the list is poultry from the United States of America.

Russia already banned Polish fruit and vegetable imports into the country from August 1.

Now it is set to extend that ban to all fruits and all vegetables from all European Union member states.

Russia imports 42 percent of its food and that business is worth 12 billion euros a year.

Putin’s order says the limits are being imposed “with the goal of guaranteeing the security of the Russian Federation.”

Putin’s move follows an agreement by European leaders to slap economic restrictions over Moscow’s response to the Ukraine crisis.