Moldova dismisses new Russian ban on vegetables, fruit imports

Pro-European authorities in Moldova have called Russia’s ban on imports of its fruits and vegetables “ridiculous.”

This is the latest example of Moscow’s deteriorating relations with the ex-Soviet state.

Meanwhile, Russia’s farm goods oversight agency, Rosselkhoznadzor, announced that it was reinstating restrictions last imposed in 2022.

It cited “continuous, systematic observation of elements subject to quarantine” and claimed that Moldovan authorities had done nothing to correct the situation.

Moldova’s food safety agency ANSA said the restrictions, to take effect on Monday, had nothing to do with the quality of its goods. No other importing countries had filed complaints.

According to the report, Russia has periodically barred farm goods from entering the country that lies between Ukraine and Romania over the past two decades, with the measures generally coinciding with a deterioration in relations.

Moldovan President Maia Sandu, who is leading an EU accession drive, has condemned Russia’s invasion of Ukraine and accused Moscow of attempting to foment a coup to depose her. She also accused Russia of interfering in last month’s local elections in Moldova.

Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov, dismissing Western criticism of Moscow’s 21-month-old conflict in Ukraine, said that Moldova was “being readied as the next victim in the hybrid war that the West unleashed against Russia.”

Moldovan producers said Moscow deliberately imposed the measures at a time of the year when their goods flooded onto the Russian market but added that they were prepared.