The watchdog said in a statement that a ban on flower deliveries from the Netherlands - a country that prides itself on its tulips - was "highly probable."
The statement said that Dutch flowers could be banned because the harmful organisms they contain "pose a serious threat to the country's economy and agricultural production."
According to data published by news site Gazeta.ru, Dutch flowers could suffer tens of millions of dollars in losses.
Russia's relations with the Netherlands soured after the downing of flight MH17 over eastern Ukraine last July, which killed all 298 passengers and crew, the majority of whom were Dutch nationals.
The West has accused the separatist insurgency of eastern Ukraine of shooting down the plane using a missile supplied by Russia.
Moscow has repeatedly denied any involvement in the incident, accusing the Ukrainian military instead.
Russia has staunchly opposed the creation of a tribunal to prosecute those responsible for the downing of MH17.
On Monday, the country introduced an alternative draft resolution at the U.N. Security Council in an attempt to thwart the initiative put forth by Malaysia.
When asked whether the agriculture watchdog's statement had been made in response to the Netherlands' support of an MH17 tribunal, Kremlin Dmitry Peskov said that politicizing the issue was "not on the Kremlin's agenda," RIA Novosti state news agency reported.
On the first anniversary of the tragedy last week, Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov laid a basket of flowers outside the Dutch embassy in Moscow.
Last August, Russia banned the import of meat, dairy and produce from European Union member states and other Western countries in retaliation for sanctions imposed on Moscow over the Ukraine crisis.
President Vladimir Putin last month ordered that the embargo be maintained until June of next year.
The Netherlands is the world's biggest flower exporter, with 10 billion Dutch tulip bulbs produced every year - 70 percent of total world yield.
AFP
dailystar.com.lb
21/7/15
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Russian UN Resolution Opposes Tribunal in Airliner Crash ...
ReplyDeleteRussia has introduced a U.N. resolution demanding that those responsible for shooting down a Malaysia Airlines plane over Ukraine last year be brought to justice, but eliminating the international tribunal that the five countries investigating the crash are seeking to prosecute the perpetrators.
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Kremlin will not politicize a possible ban on imports of Dutch tulips into Russia and does not link the issue to Russia’s objection to creating an international tribunal to investigate the MH17 crash that occurred in Ukraine a year ago...
ReplyDelete"I am not an advocate of politicizing this issue. The more so that [deliveries of flowers from the Netherlands to Russia] is not part of the Kremlin agenda," Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov told journalists on Tuesday. He said the Russian Federal Service for Veterinary and Phyto-Sanitary Control [Rosselkhoznadzor] and the Russian Agriculture Ministry should give all the necessary explanations.............http://tass.ru/en/russia/809965
21/7/15