Food Embargo Meaningful, Production Level Growing in Russia: Minister

Russia's Minister of Economic Development Alexei Ulyukayev commented on the Russian food embargo, saying that the statistics shows growth on the domestic production market.

MOSCOW, December 27 (Sputnik) — Russia's Minister of Economic Development Alexei Ulyukayev stated that the limitation of western food imports is economically reasonable, as the statistics showed growth in livestock production, especially dairy products.

In August, Russia has limited food imports from the countries that had previously introduced sanctions against Moscow for alleged participation in the Ukrainian crisis. The restrictions were put on meat, dairy products, seafood, vegetables and fruits.

"It is an economically reasonable policy… The statistics shows a significant increase in the production of cheese, butter, cottage cheese. The meat growth is slower, but next year it will increase," the minister said during his interview with Komsomolskaya Pravda.

Commenting on the increase of prices for Russian products, he said that "they will not manage to support themselves, beggaring you." "If you go broke, you're not going to buy anything from them. And then they will go out of business. Yes, these are elements of wild capitalism. But this is a feasible problem," said the minister.

US sanctions are for decades, European ones may have different fate

Alexei Ulyukayev said that while US sanctions are a problem for decades, the volume of US-Russian relations is small, at the same time, the EU sanctions "may have a different fate."

The minister said earlier that the Ukraine Freedom Support Act, adopted by the US and authorizing the country’s president to introduce new anti-Russian sanctions, would be a problem for decades.

"Yes, I believe that the adoption of the federal US law to support Ukraine and imposing sanctions against us — it is a problem for decades. But how significant it will be for us? The volume of our relations with the United States is small," continued the minister.

"Speaking about the European sanctions, in my view, there may be a different fate… European and American sanctions are two different things," said the minister.

Europe accounts for about 60 percent of Russian and the USA and Canada — for about 5 percent. Western countries have already introduced sanctions against a number of Russian defense and resource companies and state-owned banks, which presupposes, first of all, restrictions on funding and technology.

Speaking at Harvard University's Kennedy School of Government in September, US Vice President Joe Biden admitted that the European Union "did not want to do that. But again, it was America's leadership and the President of the United States insisting."

In response to the Western sanctions, Russia imposed a one-year ban on the import of certain foods from the United States, the European Union, Canada, Australia and Norway.