November 23, 2012

According to the food safety watchdog Rosselkhoznadzor, the decision was made on Thursday (Nov 22) following negotiations in Moscow with a UK delegation led by UK Chief Veterinary Officer Nigel Gibbens.

"Today a decision was made to lift the ban on the imports of beef and mutton from the UK into Russia soon. Now we need to coordinate the move with our colleagues from the Customs Union. We have accepted guarantees from the British side," Rosselkhoznadzor spokesman Alexei Yeryomenko said.

The lifting of the ban is a matter of a few days. "This issue will be resolved within the week," he said.

Russia plans to lift the ban on meat supplies from two UK companies, he said, without specifying the businesses.

In humans, it can lead to the incurable Creutzfeldt-Jakob disease, a degenerative neurological disorder.

There have been no recorded instances of mad cow disease in Russia, according to Russian authorities.