MOSCOW - Russia will not lift its embargo on hard liquor imports from the Czech Republic in the near future, Gennady Onishchenko, Russia's chief epidemiologist and director of the consumer rights watchdog Rospotrebnadzor, told Interfax on Tuesday, Sept. 25.
“The ban imposed by Russia will remain in force until we receive
exhaustive information detailing the results of an investigation into
the alcohol poisoning cases and the reasons behind these products’
appearance on the market of European Union countries,” Onishchenko said.
Russia banned imports of hard liquors from the Czech Republic last
Friday over reported methanol poisoning incidents in this country, as
well as Poland and Slovakia.
The ban on Czech alcohol was due to the Czech Republic’s own decision
to stop exporting alcohol to Europe over the recent poisoning cases.
On Monday, the Czech Prosecutor’s Office announced the arrest of two
people suspected of arranging the sale of bootleg alcohol. They face
from 12 to 20 years in prison if found guilty.
The death toll has already reached 25 in the Czech alcohol poisoning outbreak, and another 40 people have been hospitalized.
