(MENAFN- AFP) Russia is to ban fish imports from the Baltic states of Latvia and Estonia, its food safety watchdog said Friday, citing violations.

Officials from Russia's food safety regulator Rosselkhoznadzor met veterinary officials from the Baltic states on Friday and told them "imports of fish products from Latvia and Estonia to Russia will be halted shortly," the agency said in a statement on its website.

Russia said it would send statements of alleged violations it discovered to Latvia and Estonia's veterinarian services over the next week.

Russia has already introduced sweeping bans of meat and produce from the European Union in retaliation against its imposition of sanctions on Moscow over its actions in Ukraine.

The Baltic states of Latvia, Estonia and Lithuania, which are EU and NATO members, have seen their relations with Russia plunge to a post-Soviet low over the Ukraine crisis.

The Baltic states said this month they will formally ask the NATO defence alliance to deploy several thousand permanent troops in their region as a deterrent to Russia.