Russia’s agricultural watchdog Rosselkhoznadzor said Wednesday that it is willing to help Greece to get back on the Russian market. “We are ready to maintain working contacts with the control and supervisory services of Greece in order to let supplies resume without delays when the food sanctions are lifted,” said the supervisory agency’s chief Sergei Dankvert (pictured below) on Wednesday.

Rosselkhoznadzor’s news release came at the moment that other countries, including Turkey, are eager to fill in the gap and substitute products that Greece had been marketing until recently.
Dankvert warned that some countries would find it “practically impossible to regain their niche on the Russian market,” however he emphasized the vast growth potential of Greek supplies, stating that Greece’s ability to export dairy products alone may exceed the capabilities of the Baltic countries whereas frozen fish from Greece was also popular on the Russian market. Apart from peaches and other fruit, more than 90% of strawberries grown in Greece are meant for Russia.

In Greece, government opposition has been rampant. The main Greek opposition party, leftist SYRIZA, accused the country’s authorities of neglecting state economic interest and urged Athens to withdraw from the EU sanctions regime against Russia.