Russia says it has banned meat imports from Montenegro in an effort to close loopholes on a ban against food products from the European Union.
Russia’s agricultural watchdog Rosselkhoznadzor made the announcement on November 18.
Interfax news agency quoted Rosselkhoznadzor Director Sergei Dankvert as saying Montenegro had allowed shipments of EU meat with fake certificates from the former Yugoslav republic.
Dankvert added that Albania and Macedonia faced similar bans if the two countries do not dispel doubts about their certificates by November 24.
Montenegro mainly supplied pork and pork products to Russia.
But Dankvert's assistant, Alexei Alekseyenko, said Montenegro "was not a major player on the market of imported meat products," adding that the ban "will not do harm to the range of imported products" from the country