020735 US, Russia Poultry Agreement Close?July 18, 2002Moscow - The United States and Russia are very close to reaching agreement on new safety certification standards for imports of U.S. poultry, which could end a several month-long dispute, a U.S. diplomat said. "We are very close. There have been exchanges and we're hoping that in the coming days the issues will be resolved," Mary Burce Warlick, minister counselor for economic affairs at the U.S. Embassy in Moscow, told reporters. Russia, the largest importer of American chicken and turkey, in March imposed a month-long ban on U.S. imports, citing worries over the use of antibiotics and salmonella contamination. Moscow, which last year imported $640 million worth of U.S. poultry, has threatened to reimpose the ban on August 1 if Washington fails to update veterinary certificates to correspond to Russian safety standards.
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