Russian Prime Minister Dmitry Medvedev

Moscow:(IANS) Russian Prime Minister Dmitry Medvedev on Thursday announced that Moscow was extending its ban on food trade to five more countries, the media reported.

“These countries have sided with the European Union (EU) about extension of anti-Russian sanctions, claiming they must introduce them due to various agreements with the EU,” Medvedev said.

The five countries are Albania, Montenegro, Iceland, Liechtenstein and Ukraine (with reservations), a statement said.

Some countries that have similar agreements with the EU have not participated in the sanctions — so joining the sanctions is a deliberate choice, Medvedev said.

Moscow introduced the first batch of counter-sanction measures in August 2014 in retaliation for anti-Russian sanctions introduced following Russia’s takeover of Crimea in March 2014 and its alleged role in the ongoing Ukraine crisis.

In June 2015, EU extended its sanctions against Russia for one year.

On August 6, Russia started to destroy food from the blacklisted countries by the order of President Vladimir Putin.