Russia was "prepared" to lift a ban on the import of EU vegetables, dpa quoted President Dmitry Medvedev as saying Friday at the close of an EU-Russia summit. "We are prepared to allow such deliveries (of vegetables) to start again, under the supervision of competent European authorities," Medvedev said in the Russian city of Nizhny Novgorod. "This is absolutely for sure." "We are happy that we have agreed that the ban on vegetables from the EU will be lifted," added European Commission President Jose Manuel Barroso. The two sides had agreed on a legal mechanism for Russia to lift the ban, they said, ending a serious trade dispute between them. The EU would put into effect a new certification process for vegetable safety that would be coordinated with Russian food safety officials "as soon as possible," Barroso said. Once the certification system was in place, Russia would allow the produce in, Medvedev said. His statement marked a clear concession by the Kremlin, which said in the past weeks that Russia would only allow EU vegetables into the country if the 27-member bloc could identify the exact source and cause of the E coli outbreak. The ban divided the two-day Russia-EU summit from the outset, as EU officials maintained that the barrier violated free trade agreements and the Kremlin said it was protecting its citizens from potential illness. But Russian health officials on Friday said talks between top officials at the summit had brought general agreement on health safety mechanisms. "The process is moving, and moving in a positive direction," said Sergei Onishchenko, Russia's chief doctor. Russian negotiators suggested that the EU guarantee the safety of each vegetable shipment. But the exact type of document, and which EU agencies would be responsible for it, were still under discussion, he said. "The ball is now in the EU's court," Onishchenko said, according to the Interfax news agency.
