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Anti-Russian sanctions

Riga mayor arrives in Moscow to discuss prospects for Latvian food exports

Nils Usakovs will stay in Moscow from September 4 through September 6 to meet with Russian Deputy Prime Minister Arkady Dvorkovich, Moscow Mayor Sergey Sobyanin and managers of retail store chains

RIGA, September 04 /ITAR-TASS/. Mayor of the Latvian capital city Riga, Nils Usakovs on Thursday arrives in Moscow to discuss issues Latvian exports to Moscow, Riga’s Dome (legislature) said on Wednesday.

Usakovs will stay in Moscow from September 4 through September 6 to meet with Russian Deputy Prime Minister Arkady Dvorkovich, Moscow Mayor Sergey Sobyanin and managers of retail store chains Alye Parusa and Azbuka Vkusa.

The Riga mayor plans to focus of the implementation of the Rizhsky Dvorik project that envisaged trade in more than 300 types of Latvia-manufactured foods, including dairy products, canned fish, and confectionery. The project is on a brink of failure due to a ban on food imports from the European Union countries Russia imposed as a response to the West’s sanctions. Usakovs has repeatedly said that it was vitally important for Latvia to preserve this project.

On August 7, Russia imposed a package of measures to respond to economic sanction from the United States, Australia, Canada, the European Union and Norway. Thus, Russia banned for a term of one year the imports of fruit, vegetables, milk and dairy products from these countries. Some types of ready-to-eat meat and fish products (with the exception of sausages) have not fallen under the ban. Earlier, Latvian Prime Minister Laimdota Straujuma said that Latvia’s losses from the Russian ban might reach 55 million euro.

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Mayor of Latvia’s capital city goes to Moscow to protect Latvian producers

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