"Disputes with Poland do not spread to the entire European Union," he told a joint press conference with Finnish President Tarja Halonen after talks. He said Russia made no complaints about the quality of Polish agricultural products.

"We are forced to ban all meat imports," Putin said, noting that the problem "is that the Polish authorities have been unable to properly administer meat products from other countries, which are supplied to the Russian consumer market despite being banned not only in Russia but in EU countries as well."

The Polish authorities' slowness in action has affected Polish producers, he added. This problem was not unsolvable, Putin said, "to handle such problems, "We have to sit at the negotiating table and find acceptable solutions." "These are not political tricks, these are technical problems," Putin said.

Russia has banned meat imports from Poland out of food safety worries and also expressed concern over meat coming in from Romania and Bulgaria, which are expected to join the EU next year.

Source: Xinhuanet