AGRICULTURE

Russia Tells U.S. It Won’t Ban Poultry Imports: U.S. Vice President Al Gore said he has received assurances from Russian Prime Minister Viktor Chernomyrdin that U.S. poultry exports will continue to Russia without interruption. In a statement released by the vice president’s office, Gore also said that Chernomyrdin confirmed that a threatened March 16 stoppage of poultry imports from the United States will not take place. The prime minister’s message was relayed to the vice president through Russian Minister of Economics Yevgeny Yasin in a meeting at the White House. Gore accepted an invitation from Chernomyrdin to send senior U.S. officials to Moscow for high-level discussions of outstanding issues related to U.S. poultry exports.