Berlin Hopes Russian Food Ban to Weaken After Agriculture Ministers Meeting

Russian and German agriculture ministers are set to meet at an agricultural expo International Green Week in Berlin on January 16.

MOSCOW, January 11 (Sputnik) — German government hopes that the meeting between German and Russian Ministers of Agriculture will help weaken the food embargo imposed by Russia in 2014, the WirtschaftsWoche magazine reported Sunday.

According to the newspaper, the ministers will meet at an agricultural expo International Green Week in Berlin on January 16.

German Agriculture Minister Christian Schmidt told the newspaper that the relations between Russia and Germany could improve, should Moscow make concessions on food imports.

Schmidt also expressed hope that traditional agricultural relations between the countries would soon be restored.

In August 2014, Moscow introduced a one-year ban on imports of many food products from the United States, the European Union and other countries that earlier imposed economic sanctions against Russia over its alleged involvement in the Ukrainian conflict. The list of banned products includes meat, poultry, fish, seafood, dairy products, fruit and vegetables.

Russian Economic Development Minister Alexei Ulyukayev said that Russia would continue to trade with its longtime European partners, including Germany, as soon as the geopolitical situation improves.