Russian authorities destroy seized Armenian roses

PanARMENIAN.Net - A shipment of Armenian roses imported into Russia from Belarus using falsified documents has been destroyed. The destruction took place on July 23 in Russia's Smolensk Region under the supervision of the Rosselkhoznadzor administration for the Bryansk, Smolensk and Kaluga regions.

According to the agency's website, the decision was made because of serious violations of Russia's rules governing the import of products subject to quarantine control.

On June 18, 2026, Rosselkhoznadzor inspectors, together with officers from the Smolensk customs service, detected and stopped the transportation of 39,200 flowers.

The vehicle carrying the shipment, driven by a Belarusian citizen, was traveling from the Minsk Region to Moscow. However, the accompanying documents declared the cargo as non-alcoholic energy drinks.

During the inspection of the truck, officials found flowers for which no phytosanitary certificates or supporting shipping documents had been provided. The remaining sections of the product labels indicated that the flowers originated in Armenia.

Since supplies of this category of goods to the Russian market are prohibited, and no documents confirming the safety of the products or the legality of their transportation were presented, the Rosselkhoznadzor administration decided to destroy the shipment of roses. The carrier was held administratively liable under Article 10.2 of the Russian Federation Code of Administrative Offenses.

On June 12, Rosselkhoznadzor introduced temporary restrictions on products subject to quarantine control that originate in Armenia and are shipped from Armenia to Russia or transit through Russian territory. The restrictions were imposed under the Treaty on the Eurasian Economic Union to prevent the introduction of dangerous quarantine pests into the country.