An employee operates a bulldozer while destroying illegally imported food falling under restrictions in Belgorod region, Russia, August 6, 2015 in this handout photo provided by Federal Service for Veterinary and Phytosanitary Surveillance in Belgorod. REUTERS/Federal Service for Veterinary and Phytosanitary Surveillance in Belgorod region/Handout via Reuters

MOSCOW (Reuters) - Russia will make sure that its ban on some food imports from the West lasts as long as possible, President Vladimir Putin said on Tuesday.

Russia banned imports of some fresh food from countries that imposed sanctions over Moscow’s role in the Ukrainian crises in 2014.