The Ukrainian government intended to decide by Monday whether to ask the World Trade Organization (WTO) to rule Russia's blocking of its products, local media reported Friday.

"We will prepare a clear plan of action by Monday, but I can say it will definitely include such an option," Economic Development and Trade Minister Igor Prasolov told reporters.

He said that from now on all the certified Ukrainian products will undergo examination by domestic laboratories before they cross the Russian border.

Kiev has no plans to hamper imports from Russia, he said, adding that the two sides have not conducted official negotiations on the trade tensions yet.

The Russian Customs Service stopped all Ukrainian imports on Wednesday for new and time-consuming checks on all Ukrainian cargoes. Restrictions that Moscow slapped on Ukrainian products left scores of trains and trucks queued at the border.

Ukraine's Federation of Employers has sounded the alarm bell, saying that Russia's move could incur losses up to 2.5 billion U.S. dollars in the second half of this year.

Ukraine's exports to Russia in the second half of this year were expected to worth 8.5 billion dollars.

Analysts believe escalated trade tensions between Ukraine and Russia were waged by Moscow to discourage Kiev from signing a cooperation pact with the European Union scheduled for November. Endi

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