Russia will soon lift a ban on British meat imports imposed 16 years ago over mad cow disease, food safety watchdog Rosselkhoznadzor said on Thursday, November 22, RIA Novosti reported.

The decision was made on Thursday following negotiations in Moscow with a UK delegation led by UK Chief Veterinary Officer Nigel Gibbens.

The lifting of the ban is a matter of a few days. “This issue will be resolved within the week,” Rosselkhoznadzor spokesman Alexei Yeryomenko said.

Russia plans to lift the ban on meat supplies from two UK companies, he said, without specifying the businesses.

British farmers have been prevented from exporting live cattle, meat and products to Russia following the 1996 outbreak in the UK of Bovine Spongiform Encephalopathy (BSE), better known as mad cow disease.

In humans, it can lead to the incurable Creutzfeldt-Jakob disease, a degenerative neurological disorder.

There have been no recorded instances of mad cow disease in Russia, according to Russian authorities.