Zakharova: Restrictions on Georgian Beverage Imports Have No Political Basis

Russian Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Maria Zakharova said that restrictions imposed on imports of some beverages from Georgia are targeted and have no political basis. She was responding to a question about the ban on the entry of a number of Georgian beverages into Russia.

According to Zakharova, the issue falls within the competence of the Federal Service for Surveillance on Consumer Rights Protection and Human Wellbeing ("Rospotrebnadzor").

"The restrictions imposed are targeted. We see how they are trying to create and speculate on some political factors out of a completely routine procedure. There is no need to search for anything here. There is no political basis whatsoever. There are certain requirements that were conveyed to those who were importing this product. I can say that dozens of Georgian companies carry out imports into Russia. Violations were revealed only at several enterprises. All the others continue to work smoothly on our market, which is a priority for Georgia," Zakharova said.

Rospotrebnadzor said that from October 9, a temporary sanitary measure was introduced in the Russian Federation to halt the import and circulation of food products. The ban affected the companies "Teliani Valley", "Tbilghvino", "Dzmebi Askaneli", "Weinmann", "Georgian Beer Company", "Coca-Cola" and "Nabeghlavi".