Moscow ready to lift Polish meat ban

Russia said yesterday it was prepared to lift the two-year embargo on Polish meat exports and take steps to normalise trade ties, ending a dispute that had poisoned relations between Moscow and Warsaw and affected Russia's ties with the European Union.

The final agreement ending the meat ban is to take place next week in the Russian enclave of Kaliningrad during a bilateral meeting of veterinary experts.

"The ban on imports will be lifted after we sign a memorandum next week," Alexei Gordeyev, Russia's agriculture minister, told reporters after meeting Poland's farm minister Marek Sawicki. "We are open to market relations."

Mr Gordeyev said a ban would remain on some products, including poultry after an outbreak of bird flu in Poland.

Politicians in Moscow hailed the agreement as opening the way for restarting negotiations on a strategic partnership pact between Russia and the EU, which have been blocked because of a Polish veto due to the meat ban.

"Now that the problems over meat imports from Poland have been decided there is no basis for Poland to veto the start of discussion," said a senior Russian senator, Vasily Lik-hachev, according to the Interfax news agency. Waldemar Pawlak, Poland's minister of the economy, called the news positive, saying: "We want to have good relations with our neighbours."

Russia began limiting the import of Polish meat in May 2004 after Poland joined the European Union, before imposing a complete ban in November 2005. Russia has also banned the import of Polish vegetables.

Moscow said it was acting for health reasons, citing examples of meat being exported with falsified certificates. Poland cracked down on abuses, and said the ban was a political ploy by Moscow to weaken Poland's position within the EU.

The meat issue is not significant economically. Before the ban only about $70m (£34.2m, €47.59m) of Polish meat was exported annually to Russia, but elimination of the ban will be a public relations success for the new government of Donald Tusk, Poland's prime minister.

http://www.ft.com/cms/s/0/73cd325a-a91e-11dc-ad9e-0000779fd2ac.html