Certificates of origin issued in self-proclaimed Donbas republics to be valid in Russia

MOSCOW. Nov 15 (Interfax) - Russian President Vladimir Putin has given the government one month to ensure recognition in Russia of certificates of origin issued by agencies and organizations operating de facto in the certain districts of the Donetsk and Luhansk regions of Ukraine.

The presidential decree to this effect is available for viewing on the official Internet portal for legal information.

The same document also instructs the government to ensure "access for goods originating from the aforementioned districts on par with goods of Russian origin for the purpose of procurement of goods for state and municipal needs and procurement of goods by individual categories of legal entities."

Furthermore, the government will have to ensure the non-application of quantitative limits on exports and imports of goods which are transported across the Russian state border to these districts or from these districts, except for individual categories of commodities.

Besides, the government will have to compile a list of goods to which these rules will not apply.

The government has also been instructed to select crossing points on the Russian border through which these goods will be transported.

The decree is intended to "protect human and civil rights and freedoms, to provide humanitarian support to the population of the certain districts of the Donetsk and Luhansk regions of Ukraine, and to prevent any further decline in living standards amid the continuing economic blockade and the deteriorating situation resulting from the spread of the novel coronavirus infection."