Russia sees progress in US poultry imports talks

MOSCOW - A top Russian medial official says Moscow and Washington have achieved some progress in talks on U.S. poultry imports.

Russia, a major poultry importer, banned all chlorine-treated poultry imports starting Jan. 1, outlawing the 600,000 tons of poultry allowed from the U.S. under revised quotas. U.S. farmers accounted for 20 percent of the 3.5 million tons of poultry Russia consumed last year.

Gennady Onishchenko was quoted by Russian news agencies as saying Russia and a visiting U.S. delegation reached common ground on unspecified points Tuesday. The second round of talks started Monday after unsuccessful discussions in January.

Chlorine is widely used on U.S. farms as an anti-microbial treatment. Russian officials claim that it poses a threat to consumers' health.