Emergency meeting called over Russia sanctions

Latvia's Minister of Economy Vjaceslavs Dombrovskis has called an emergency meeting of the expanded National Economy Council to discuss Russia's food sanctions from the West.

Russian Prime Minister Dmitry Medvedev's announcement Thursday that a  full embargo would be imposed on beef, pork, fruit, vegetables, poultry, fish, cheese, milk and dairy products from the European Union, U.S,  Australia, Canada and Norway.

The National Economy Council consists of the Economy Ministry, Latvian Chamber of Commerce and Industry, Employers' Confederation of Latvia, the Free Trade Union Confederation of Latvia and Latvian Association of Local Authorities.

At the same time, representatives from Latvian Federation of Food Companies, Farmers Parliament and Union of Latvian Fish Processing Industries have also been invited to the meeting.

The International Monetary Fund earlier claimed the Baltics would be among the worst hit economies as a result of sanctions.