MINSK (AFP) -- Belarus on Sunday said it would not take part in a regional security meeting hosted by its longtime ally Russia in protest at Moscow's “discriminatory” ban on the import of Belarussian milk.

The announcement is the latest sign of deteriorating relations between the two neighbors and deals a blow to Moscow's efforts to boost military ties with countries of the former Soviet Union.
A spokesman for the Belarussian foreign ministry, Andrei Popov, said the milk ban had “forced” Belarus to cancel its participation in the Collective Security Treaty Organisation (CSTO) summit being held in Moscow on Sunday.
“Belarus, having waited until the last moment for the cancellation of the discriminatory ban … was forced to make a decision on canceling its participation in the meeting,” Popov said in a statement.
Popov linked the decision to the so-called “milk war” that broke out between Belarus and Russia on June 6 when Moscow abruptly banned the import of 500 kinds of Belarussian dairy products, ostensibly for health reasons.
He said Belarussian dairy exports to Russia were worth one billion dollars (700 million euros) last year and that the ban “undermines the economic security” of Belarus, violating the principles of the CSTO.
The CSTO is a regional grouping that Moscow has touted as a counterweight to NATO. Along with Russia and Belarus, it includes the ex-Soviet republics of Armenia, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Tajikistan and Uzbekistan.
At its last high-level meeting in February the CSTO agreed to form a rapid reaction force that would be based in Russia, and Sunday's meeting was expected to develop the plan further.
Ties between Russia and Belarus have become strained in recent months as Moscow has expressed anger at Belarussian President Alexander Lukashenko's moves to seek closer ties with the European Union.