Russia bans fruit, veg, meat, fish, dairy imports from U.S., EU

FILE: A woman stands in front of the counter in a low-price shop in Russia's far eastern city of Vladivostok March 17, 2009. (REUTERS/Yuri Maltsev)

MOSCOW (Reuters) - Russia will ban fruit, vegetables, meat, fish, milk and dairy imports from the United States, the European Union, Australia, Canada and Norway, Prime Minister Dmitry Medvedev told a government meeting on Thursday.

The decision follows a decree signed by President Vladimir Putin ordering the government to ban or limit food imports from countries that imposed sanctions on Moscow for its support of rebels in eastern Ukraine and the annexation of Crimea.

"There is nothing good in sanctions and it wasn't an easy decision to take, but we had to do it," Medvedev said.

The ban is valid from Aug. 7 and will last for one year, he said.

(Reporting by Polina Devitt, Katya Golubkova, Maria Kiselyova and Alexei Anishchuk; editing by Jason Neely)