Rosselkhoznadzor head Sergei Dankvert and Polish veterinary chief Ewa Lech signed on Wednesday a memorandum to lift a ban on Polish meat supplies imposed by Russia in November 2005 over what it called the low quality of meat and other products imported by and via Poland.
"Under the terms of the memorandum, meat and meat products will be supplied, from the moment of the memorandum's signing, from Polish enterprises certified in 2007 to export their meat products to Russia, without intermediary storage or splitting up of the shipments following their final pre-shipment certification," Rosselkhoznadzor said in a statement.
"Certification of Polish meat-processing plants will continue in 2008, after the corresponding applications have been received from Poland," the statement said.
Russia's watchdog also said meat to be supplied to Russia from Poland must meet Russian requirements.
The ban on Polish meat has proved a major source of tension between Russia and Poland, which vetoed talks on a new Russia-EU partnership and cooperation agreement in protest against the embargo. Center-right politician Donald Tusk's victory in Polish parliamentary elections in October prompted hopes that Warsaw would take a more accommodating stance on disputes with Russia, including on the meat issue.
