BELARUS NEWS AND ANALYSIS

DATE:

06/06/2009

Russia bans Belarusian milk amid growing rift

MOSCOW (AP) - Russia banned Belarus' milk and dairy products Saturday, the top Russian public health and consumer protection official said, amid a widening rift between the two ex-Soviet neighbors.

Gennady Onishchenko told NTV Television that he banned Belarusian dairy imports and sales because Belarus had failed to observe the latest Russian regulations on such products.

While Onishchenko cited technical reasons, his move followed an angry statement by Belarusian President Alexander Lukashenko accusing Russia of trying to wrest control over his nation's milk factories.

Lukashenko's comments, released by his office Friday, indicated relations between the neighbors had plunged to a new low.

The Belarusian president he had been told by Russian officials that they would not allow Belarus to sell its milk to Russia if it refused to hand over control of its milk factories.

"I told them: 'Good bye, we won't allow you to talk to us like that,>' Lukashenko said. "We will rather die and spill this milk on the ground.

Russia has been accused in the past of using sanitary controls as a political weapon against other ex-Soviet nations, including Georgia and Moldova.

Belarus' chief sanitary official Valentina Kachan insisted her country had done everything to comply with new Russian regulations, which contain detailed requirements for production, storage and packing of milk and dairy products.

Russia and Belarus have an accord envisaging close political, economic and military ties, and they declared a joint goal of building a single state.

But Lukashenko has resisted Russian attempts to take control of key Belarusian industrial assets, and has criticized Russia for shutting its market to Belarusian goods and for failing to reward Belarus for its role as Moscow's main military and political ally.

Lukashenko also said in remarks released Friday that Moscow had attempted to blackmail his country into recognizing the independence of Georgia's separatist provinces, saying the move was a condition for Belarus to receive the last $500 million of a $2 billion loan. Russian officials dismissed the claim.

Source:

http://www.pr-inside.com/russia-bans-belarusian-milk-amid-growing-r1303905.htm

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