MOSCOW, June 9 (RIA Novosti) - Russia's consumer rights regulator Rospotrebnadzor has banned the imports of another 800 dairy products from Belarus, the watchdog's head told RIA Novosti.
Russia first banned almost 500 Belarusian milk imports on Saturday, saying dairy producers in the ex-Soviet republic had failed to comply with new legislation.
"An additional probe has showed that the implementation of technical regulations for milk and dairy products and the re-registration of documentation in the Smolensk and Bryansk regions were conducted with evident violations of such procedures," Gennady Onishchenko said on Monday.
Asked about the possibility of talks with Belarus, the top sanitary official said it was hardly likely.
"Rospotrebnadzor is forced to withdraw its previously voiced request for negotiations with Belarus, since some of its officials view the problem as 'farfetched.' We find it incautious to bother our Belarusian colleagues over farfetched problems and apologize for the inconvenience," Onishchenko said.
Onishchenko warned in late April that Belarus was failing to comply with Russian regulations regarding diary products introduced in December 2008, which could lead to import restrictions being imposed.
Earlier it was reported that the Russian authorities were unhappy with Belarus over the significant subsidies granted to its agricultural sector, while Minsk accused Russia of putting up trade barriers to the Russian market.
Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov assured reporters after talks with his Belarusian counterpart, Sergei Martynov, on Tuesday that the dairy ban was not the same as sanctions.
"Russia has not imposed any sanctions on Belarus," Lavrov said.
In turn, Martynov urged respect for technical regulations on the part of both countries, and said Belarus "saw no politics here."
