According to Rosselkhoznadzor, Russia has started to ban imports of Armenian dairy products on July 27, citing the alleged presence of “milk from infected livestock.” Rosselkhoznadzor stated that Armenia “lacks a system for verifying the origin and safety of milk or other raw dairy materials used in production,” and that Armenia generally “does not monitor agricultural producers.”

The move is the latest in a series of restrictions on Armenian imports that are widely viewed as politically motivated. Widespread restrictions began in the run-up to the June parliamentary elections in Armenia, in which the Kremlin clearly hoped for the defeat of Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan’s Civil Contract party. Import bans continued after the election victory of Pashinyan’s party and expanded into other sectors, while the EU and the Armenian government attempted to cushion the impact through export diversification.

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