"Trade with Russia needs to be reduced": Latvia urged the EU to replace goods from Russian Federation with Ukrainian

Latvian Agands Crouse Minister recalled that in 2014, Moscow had imposed an embargo on some EU foods, while European countries did not impose such sanctions. Latvia proposes to impose sanctions on Russian agricultural products and replace it in the Ukrainian market. Armands Krause, Latvia Minister of Agriculture, proposed a corresponding initiative on the eve of a meeting of agriculture of European Union Member States in Brussels.

He noted that it was proposed to discuss sanctions on Russian agricultural products. The politician emphasized the ability of the EU to provide community products. "We are self -sufficient, which gives income for the Russian military car," he said. Armands Krause drew attention to the need to comply with the standards of production of products that are not observed in Russia. The minister proposed to replace Russian goods with products from Ukraine.

He stressed that a certain group of goods, including sunflower oil, can be supplied by Ukrainian producers. "In fact, we can buy all the food products that we import from Russia from Ukraine," Krause said. The minister added that this will help the Government of Ukraine to finance defense against Russian aggression. He recalled that in 2014, Russia imposed an embargo on some food products from the European Union, while European countries did not impose such sanctions.