Despite claims made by the president of the Russian Federal Service for Veterinary and Phytosanitary Surveillance (Rosselkhoznadzor) Sergey Dankvert who indicated that they do not plan to ban all food imports from Turkey and, on the contrary, appreciate the constructive approach taken by Turkish exporters, Russia has announced that it is widening sanctions it imposed on Turkish food imports yesterday. Accordingly, Russia decided to stop importing pumpkins coming from Turkey either directly or through third-party countries.After Turkey downed a Russian warplane violating its airspace near the Syrian border on Nov. 24, the furious Russian government announced sanctions on Turkey in response.Turkish food imports were blocked at Russian border gates after Jan. 1. Since it is not easy to find alternatives for some fruit and vegetables, Moscow had to back down from implementing sanctions on some products. Moreover, as food prices were up due to decreasing supply and the Russian economy was already suffering from low oil prices and Western sanctions stemming from the Ukrainian crisis, the economy also faces significant inflation.