(Reuters) - The European Union said on Thursday it will soon take Russia to the World Trade Organisation to try to push Moscow to lift its ban on pork exports from the bloc, marking a deepening of trade tensions.

Brussels says Moscow's reaction to an outbreak of African Swine Fever (ASF) in Lithuania has been disproportionate because it has also been blocking all EU pork exporters, notably Danish, Dutch and German trucks.

"The EU has exhausted all possible diplomatic avenues to resolve this disproportionate ban by Russia on European pork products," EU trade spokesman John Clancy said. "The EU has no other option at this stage but to start preparing to file legal action against Russia on this issue at the WTO in the very near future."

Source: Reuters

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