Russia Agrees to Lift Restrictions on EU Meat Imports

Russia has agreed to reverse a decision to suspend imports of meat products from the European Union, but it was unclear when it would take effect, an EU spokesman said Friday. European Commission President Romano Prodi reached the deal during a phone conversation with Russian Prime Minister Mikhail Fradkov late Thursday, an EU spokesman said. "The prime minister accepted our views and promised the Russian government will stop these restrictions and will allow trade on food stuffs to continue freely from here on." As part of the deal, the two sides set an end-of-September deadline by which to reach an agreement to resolve Russia's concerns about the EU's system of issuing veterinary certificates on meat imports. Moscow had demanded the European Commission itself issue a uniform certificate.