Once again, Russia has banned the import of wine from Moldavia. The authorities issued a decree to this effect - not for the first time.

Russia has banned the import of wine from Moldavia, citing as a reason that the quality was unsatisfactory, and that there were hygiene problems. A senior health official in Moscow said, according to press releases, that wines from Moldavia should not be used for drinking, but rather for painting fences. A ban on imports was first imposed in 2006, but has been handled rather slackly in the interim.

Experts on Russian affairs consider the reasons to be false, the real reason for the current ban is to be found in general political differences between the two states. (WF)