Russia has temporarily halted the sale of a number of alcoholic beverages produced in Armenia. This decision was made by Rospotrebnadzor after checking products circulating in the country, writes The Moscow Times.

According to the Russian agency, Armenian products that do not comply with mandatory requirements were found on sale. In this regard, a restriction was introduced by decree: the sale of these goods is halted, and importers and trade organizations are ordered to remove them from sale.

The restrictions affected products from three major Armenian producers — VEDI-ALCO, Abovyan Cognac Factory, and Shahnazaryan Wine and Cognac House. Specific items mentioned include both wines and cognacs. For example, these include the red semi-sweet wine ‘Getap Vernashen’, the white dry wine ‘Vedi Alco’ from the ‘Legends of ARNI’ line, ‘Armenian 5-star cognac’, and the seven-year-old ‘Shahnazaryan XO’ cognac.

However, Rospotrebnadzor did not specify which particular requirements were violated — it only stated that the products do not comply with the standards. Therefore, the exact reasons — for example, problems with composition, labeling, or safety — have not yet been disclosed.

This is not the first such decision concerning Armenian goods in recent days. Previously, it was completely forbidden to import and sell ‘Jermuk’ mineral water in Russia. In that case, the reason was specifically stated: the water allegedly showed an excess of permissible levels of chemical substances, including bicarbonates, chlorides, and sulfates. It was also noted that inaccurate information about the product’s medicinal properties could mislead consumers and even harm health. Armenian flowers also fell under restrictions, in which some infection was also suddenly found unexpectedly.

Against this backdrop, experts and media outlets point out that the restrictions may be linked not so much to quality control as to the general deterioration of relations between Russia and Armenia. Recently, tensions have been observed between the two countries. The Russian side has criticized Armenian authorities for a number of political steps, including rapprochement with the European Union and other decisions that Moscow considers unfriendly.