BRUSSELS – The European Union could appeal to the World Trade Organisation (WTO) over a Russian ban on the bloc’s agricultural exports, a senior EU source has said.
He argued that it may have been illegally imposed in response to EU sanctions.
“We find there is no basis in international law for such type of retaliatory measures,’’ the source said on condition of anonymity. [eap_ad_1] According to him, we will however analyse very carefully what are the pros and cons of bringing this issue in the context of the WTO.
In the meantime, Brussels will ask other nations not to increase food exports to Russia.
“We don’t think it would be acceptable for countries to profit from the current situation in order to replace those imports which had been banned,’’ the source added.
Sources say that later on Monday, European Commission President Jose Manuel Barroso will speak with Ukrainian President Petro Poroshenko and Russian President Vladimir Putin on the issue.
He added that the crisis would be discussed further at a meeting of EU ambassadors on Tuesday. (dpa/NAN)
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