Russian Sanitary Inspector Refuses Meeting with Georgian Officials over Wine Row

Despite an agreement between Georgian and Russian experts to jointly examine the quality of Georgian wines, the Russian chief sanitary inspector refused to meet Georgian officials visiting Moscow for discussion on Russia’s ban on imports of Georgian wines.

Georgian Agriculture Minister Mikheil Svimonishvili said in Moscow on April 14 that the agreement, which was reached during a meeting between Georgian Deputy Healthcare Minister Nikoloz Pruidze and experts from the Russian Consumer Protection Agency, does not imply Russia’s intent to lift its ban on imports of Georgian wines.

The Georgian Agriculture Minister also said that he tried in vain to arrange a meeting with chief Russian Sanitary Inspector Gennadiy Onishchenko. The latter, who chairs the Russian Consumer Protection Agency, banned import of Georgian wines last month, claiming that they were contaminated with pesticides.

“The meeting took place only on the level of experts, but even this meeting was not well-prepared, unlike Georgian experts, their Russian counterparts were not prepared… We have put forth concrete certificates proving our wines’ high quality,” Minister Svimonishvili said.