According to reports in Russian media the support for the sanctions is dropping among European countries.
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A new round of negotiations will start in June on extending the sanctions on Russia.
Meanwhile Moscow is threatening to extend the sanctions against Turkey. Egyptian fruit and vegetable has a lower quality than usual, says the Russian phytosanitary inspection. Russia suspects trade of Turkish products.
Ukraine imported less apples, partially due to an unfavourable exchange rate. And once again tonnes of Polish top fruit were intercepted and destroyed in the last few days.
The Russian ambassador in the EU said in an interview with Russian media that support for the sanctions among EU member states is decreasing.
"A growing number of countries, more and more leaders, are speaking out against the sanctions, not just in contact with us, but publicly," according to the ambassador. An EU meeting on the future of the sanctions is planned for June.
The French senator Gerard Larcher said to the Russian press bureau Tass that France is prepared to make a proposal to end the sanctions. "We need to prepare now, as there is no certainty that the sanctions will continue," according to the senator. The Frenchman did add that lifting the sanctions would be easier if the Minsk agreement was carried out.
Greece is also piping up again. A spokesperson for the Greek government told Tass that Athens "wholeheartedly supports the idea of repairing the relationship between the EU and Russia."
Greece has been against the sanctions for a while. The Greece agriculture is being hit hard by the boycott, which is the result of the European sanctions.
According to the Russians the Austrian authorities said that they are looking at the damage of the sanctions both on Europe and Russia. "Lifting the sanctions is important to Vienna," according to the Russian ambassador in Vienna. Austria hasn't yet made an unambiguous decision on the sanctions. ■
The final few days of September will feature mostly tranquil weather conditions throughout the Nation outside of a few areas expecting scattered showers and thunderstorms.