EU To Ban Poultry Imports From Russia, Kazakhstan

6 August 2005 (RFE/RL) -- The European Union will ban poultry imports from Russia and Kazakhstan after cases of bird flu were reported in both countries.

EU officials said the ban is a precautionary measure with no real implications, since there is no trade in poultry between Russia, Kazakhstan and the European Union.

A spokesman for the European Commission said EU member states will be asked to approve the ban by next Friday.

In Kyrgyzstan, state veterinary authorities banned the import of poultry from Russia's Novosibirsk and Omsk oblasts and Kazakhstan's Pavlodar Oblast.

(Reuters/dpa/ RFE/RL's Kyrgyz Service)

See also: Outbreak Of Bird Flu Confirmed In Siberia