Russia has temporarily closed 12 McDonald’s outlets across the country and is carrying out 100 inspections over alleged hygiene violations in a move critics describe a response to Washington’s sanctions against Moscow.
The fast-food giant said in a statement on Friday that 12 restaurants, seven of them in southern Russia, have been closed by the authorities from Russia’s food safety watchdog, and 100 of its 440 outlets are currently under investigation over alleged sanitation issues.
McDonald’s said it will “do everything it can” to continue services in Russia.
“We are closely studying the content of the agency documents to determine what should be done to re-open the restaurants as soon as possible.
“We do not agree with the court’s decision and will appeal against it in accordance with the procedures established by the law,” the Illinois-based company said in the statement.
The investigations into alleged McDonald’s sanitary violations come as the United States and Russia face heightened tensions over the growing conflict in Ukraine.
Washington has threatened Moscow with new sanctions over Ukraine.
“Russia is responsible for the violence in eastern Ukraine,” said US President Barack Obama. “The new images of Russian forces inside Ukraine make that plain for the world to see.”
“As a result of the action Russia has already taken and the major sanctions we’ve imposed, Russia is already more isolated than any time since the end of the cold war,” Obama told reporters on Thursday.
Russia’s Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov says Moscow will exhaust all efforts to safeguard its “legitimate interests” should Western states adopt fresh sanctions against the country.
Western powers and the government in Kiev accuse Moscow of having a hand in the crisis in eastern Ukraine, which erupted when Kiev launched military operations in April to silence pro-Russia protests, but the Kremlin denies the accusation.
MP/HSN
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