The Italian Ambassador to Russia, Pasquale Terracciano, has expressed hopes that Parmesan cheese may be removed from the list of products subject to Russia's food embargo, a sanction in response to Western sanctions following Russia's annexation of Crimea and the conflict in eastern Ukraine. However, Rospotrebnadzor, the Russian federal service responsible for consumer protection, has clarified that the decision to add or remove items from the embargo list is not within their remit. The food embargo, initially imposed in 2014, has been extended multiple times and includes a variety of agricultural products from countries like the EU and the US.