Kazakhstan’s decision represents a blow to Kremlin chief Vladimir Putin.
Russian agriculture safety watchdog this week temporarily banned imports of tomatoes, peppers, fresh melons, wheat, flax seeds and lentils from Kazakhstan.
“The decision was made due to the failure of competent authorities in Kazakhstan to take action and in order to ensure the phytosanitary safety of the territory of Russia,” the Rosselkhoznadzor authority said on its website.
The restrictive measure comes shortly after Kazakhstan, Central Asia’s largest economy, refused to join BRICS, the bloc of emerging economies of which Russia currently holds the presidency.
There’s zero chance they’d care enough about this to refuse trade goods. Russia is trying to rebuild a dead empire, so they’re apparently so inclined, but China only cares about China and that’s not their problem.