BELARUS NEWS AND ANALYSIS
DATE:
17/06/2009
Belarus delegation on renewal of dairy exports to Russia returns to Minsk
MINSK. June 17 (Interfax) - Members of Belarus' delegation who took part in talks on the possibility of resuming Belarusian dairy product deliveries to the Russian market have returned to Minsk, a source in the Belarusian delegation told Interfax on Wednesday.
The Belarusian authorities earlier decided to recall their delegation, led by Deputy Agriculture and Food Minister Mikhail Savelyev, after Gennady Onishchenko, head of Russia's consumer rights watchdog (Rospotrebnadzor), refused to meet with the delegation's members in Moscow.
On Tuesday, Rospotrebnadzor had been expected to sign a protocol with the Belarusian delegation outlining a list of documents Belarusian dairy suppliers were required to receive to resume their deliveries to Russia, as well as a list of laboratories that would issue such documents.
Onishchenko told Vesti 24 television on Tuesday that he was suspending negotiations on the "dairy issue" with Belarus, asking the Belarusian authorities to specify the powers of their delegation.
On Saturday, June 6, Rospotrebnadzor banned the import of 600 items of Belarusian dairy products to Russia, referring to Belarusian producers' alleged failure to abide by Russia's new technical regulations for dairy products.
On June 9, Rospotrebnadzor chief Onishchenko issued orders suspending sanitary and healthcare inspection protocols regarding 593 items of Belarusian dairy products that were earlier issued by the consumer rights watchdog's branches for the Bryansk and Smolensk regions.
Russia's ban applies to more than 1,000 items of dairy products from Belarus.
Meanwhile, Russian Agriculture Minister Yelena Skrynnik told Interfax on Tuesday that Russia and Belarus had finished their talks on this problem and had reached a mutually acceptable agreement.
"We finished our consultations and talks on a positive note. We have achieved an agreement that suits both parties," she said.
Source:
http://www.interfax.com/3/500158/news.aspx
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