CHISINAU, Moldova — Russia has banned imports of wine from Moldova, according to an order circulated by its customs service, weeks after Moldova's acting president irritated Moscow by denouncing Soviet rule as occupation.
Winemaking accounts for about one-fifth of the economy and employs more than a quarter of all workers in Moldova, one of Europe's poorest and smallest nations, and the Russian ban cuts off producers from their biggest market.
"[Russia's] Federal Customs Service hereby bans imports of the following products: wines … wine materials, cognacs produced in the Republic of Moldova," the customs service said in a document sent to its border checkpoints.
It cited concern about the quality of Moldovan wines', an issue that had been repeatedly voiced by Russia's Federal Consumer Protection Service.
