Ukraine halts goods deliveries to Crimea amid new tensions with Russia

KIEV: Ukraine announced Monday the suspension of goods deliveries to Crimea and threatened a tit-for-tat ban on food imports from Russia as tensions with Moscow flare over the annexed peninsula.
The Ukrainian interior minister also suggested that the government cut off power supplies to the annexed peninsula which declared a state of emergency at the weekend after its main electricity lines from Ukraine were blown up.
The new spike in tensions with Moscow comes as Kiev expects a free trade agreement between Ukraine and the European Union to enter into force from Jan 1, 2016.
"The Ukrainian government temporarily suspends the movement of goods between Ukraine and Crimea at the initiative of Prime Minister Arseniy Yatsenyuk," Ukraine's government said in a statement.
Yatsenyuk made the announcement during a government meeting after President Petro Poroshenko proposed that his government discuss a freeze on cargo deliveries to Crimea.
Ukraine's Western-backed leader requested the government "immediately establish a working group" to halt "deliveries of goods and all trade" with Crimea, which depends on Ukraine for its water and electricity supplies.
Russia last week reiterated a threat to introduce a blanket ban on food supplies from Ukraine from Jan 1, saying Kiev's landmark agreement with the EU at the heart of the Ukraine crisis will damage Moscow's economic interests.
Yatsenyuk, for his part, said that Ukraine would respond to any ban from Russia with a retaliatory measure.
"I would like to emphasise that Ukraine will respond in similar ways," he said. "Every Russian embargo against Ukraine will be followed by a Ukrainian embargo against Russia."
On Sunday, Crimea declared a state of emergency after its main electricity lines from Ukraine were blown up by unknown attackers, leaving the Russian-annexed peninsula in darkness after the second such attack in as many days.
The Black Sea peninsula still depends on Ukraine for its electricity even after its annexation by Russia in March last year, a move which paved the way for the uprising in eastern Ukraine that has now killed more than 8,000 people.
Ukrainian Interior Minister Arsen Avakov suggested Monday that the government take a "political decision" and ban power supplies to Crimea altogether. — AFP