MOSCOW: Russia has accused the European Union of violating global free trade measures in its first complaint before the World Trade Organisation, the economy ministry said on Tuesday.

The procedure has to do with “a violation by the EU of anti-dumping provisions of the WTO agreement,” said spokeswoman Yulia Chkanikova.

The complaint is the first Russia has filed since it joined the global trade body in August 2012, the economy ministry said.

It also follows complaints by the EU over a Russian car recycling tax imposed on imported vehicles as well as ongoing tension between Moscow and Brussels over several issues like the pro-European protests sweeping Ukraine and the arrest of EU citizens on the crew of Greenpeace Arctic Sunrise protest ship.—AFP