The guardian: " war of sanctions " kills agriculture Greece

A week later, once Russia has banned food Imports from the European Union in response to an entered against her punishment, Greek farmers claim that the embargo had already dealt a crushing blow to the country's agriculture, writes.

at least 3, 5 thousand tons of peaches rotted away in trucks-trucks that were supposed to turn around halfway to Russia, and fruit growers warned of the disaster that has occurred for the agricultural sector.

" Russia consumes more than 60% of the volume exported by us are peaches and almost 90% of our strawberries. It is extremely important that the EU has supported us, otherwise all our agriculture will collapse, " said the publishing Director of the largest in Greece, the regional Association of farmers and cooperators Christ, Yannakakis.

Farmers fruit suppliers describe scenes of chaos, chaos on the roads of Bulgaria, Romania, Moldova and Ukraine: hundreds of trucks loaded with fruit turned back from the border with Russia.

analysis of newspaper supposedly fifteen thousand families in the horticultural areas of Northern Greece lived on income from fruit production.

" About 3, 5 thousand tons of peaches rotting in the truck in the middle of summer, and another, presumably the same is expected to collect. The damage is huge, just huge, " said the journalist, the guardian, the head of the Federation of truck drivers, Greece Apostolos Karanis.

" We are in absolute despair. We don't know what to do " - echoes Konstantinos Turkies of the Agricultural Association of the region of Naoussa in the North of Macedonia, in supplying the Russian Federation apples, cherries and kiwi.

Greece is the largest trading partner of Russia, their turnover last year exceeded 5, 7 billion euros. Currently, the Greek manufacturers claim losses, reaching 178 million euros only because of Russia's refusal to buy fruits and canned goods.

Second world war hero and veteran of the left movement in Greece Manolis Glezos wrote to the President of Russia centuries Putin emotional letter in which he asked him to liberate Greece from the Russian contracti.

" I appeal to your humanity and the traditional friendship between our countries, " wrote the 92-year-old veteran, listing the cases, when Greece was openly opposed its partners in the EU in relations between countries: from the bombing of Serbia in the 1990s, years before the invasion of Iraq in 2003.

" We can't build its foreign policy on the peaches. There is a big difference between payments to farmers and the rules of the European Union ", - quotes the print edition of the press Secretary of the Greek government Sophia, Voltaic.

However, at the end of the conversation with the journalist, the guardian, she said: " It is now the peaches, but at the end of the year will be apples, cherries, kiwi and strawberries - in General, a disaster for us and our economy in such difficult times for Greece."


The President of the Russian Federation centuries Putin on 6 August on the individual to ensure safety. The import of a number of items from countries that have imposed penalties on the Russian capital, limited to year. In the corresponding list includes beef, pork, fruits, poultry, cheeses and dairy products, nuts, and other products. A complete list of prohibited importation into the Russian Federation of products -


sections: Politics