Russia’s allies dissociate themselves from import ban

Belarus and Kazakhstan officially announced that they will not join Russia’s food import ban, the Polish media reported August 13.

“The ban on import of foods from the EU is a unilateral decision made by Russia and does not apply to the other members of the union,” Kazakhstan’s President Nursultan Nazarbayev announced in a public communique.

Belarus has also distanced itself from the food import ban, although it clearly stated that it would not breach the terms of the union with Russia by re-exporting goods from the EU and into Russia.

“If we need Polish apples, we’ll buy them, not for Russia, but for the domestic market,” Belarusian President Alexander Lukashenko said. “If we need German delicatessen, we’ll purchase them for domestic consumption. If we have to process something, we’ll buy and process it,” he said.

“We must fulfil our obligations to protect the [Customs] Union market from transit of Western cargoes to Russia via Belarus,” the president stated. “If Russia has closed its market to certain goods, we should not allow their transit.”

While the official statements of the presidents of Kazakhstan and Belarus were accepted with relief, Polish producers are initiating contacts with export markets in Asia and Africa in a bid to diversify away from Eastern Europe.

Photo courtesy of Lyza Danger Gardner