The European Union (EU) said on Thursday it regrets the announcement by Russia of a ban imposed on food imports from the EU and reserves the right to take action as appropriate.
"This announcement is clearly politically motivated. The Commission will assess the measures in question as soon as we have more information as to their full content and extent," the EU said in a statement.
Following the assessment, "We reserve the right to take action as appropriate," it added.
Russian Prime Minister Dmitry Medvedev said earlier on Thursday that Russia is imposing a ban on food imports from the EU and the United States in retaliation for their sanctions against Moscow over the Ukraine crisis.
The EU had agreed in July on a package of "significant" additional restrictive measures targeting Russia's finance, defense and energy sectors, according to an European Council statement.