Putin extends EU food embargo

EU food embargo: Russian President Vladimir Putin has signed a decree banning imports of Western food products until the end of 2017, according to a posting on the Kremlin’s website. The move comes after  Prime Minister Dmitry Medvedev proposed prolonging the embargo last month after the G7 group of world leaders agreed to extend their anti-Russian sanctions until Moscow complied with the terms of the Minsk agreements and withdrew support for secessionist forces in eastern Ukraine.
Russia introduced the food embargo in August 2014  in retaliation for the sanctions imposed by the EU  on Moscow after the annexation of Ukraine.  
The ban initially applied to meat, poultry, fish, cheese, milk, fruit and vegetables from the EU, the US,  Canada, Australia and Norway, and was extended to include  Albania, Montenegro, Iceland and Liechtenstein the following year.