The Sri Lankan government today announced that the tea imports ban imposed by Russia has been lifted. 

Plantation Minister Navin Dissanayake said the decision will come into effect from December 30. 

The decision, according to the Minister, has been reached after the discussion between the Sri Lankan government and the Russian authorities. They were coordinated by Sri Lankan ambassador to Russia Saman Weerasinghe. 

However, the conditions under which Russia has lifted the ban are still unknown. 

The Plantation Ministry officials whom we contacted said they were not privy to what went on at the discussions. 

Russia banned tea imports from Sri Lanka after it found an insect in a stock of tea supplied by Sri Lanka. 

Later it was believed that the decision was a response to Sri Lanka's decision to ban Asbestos due to concerns raised by scientists and health experts. In a farcical turn of events, a few days after Russia imposed a ban on Sri Lankan tea, President Maithripala Sirisena withdrew his decision on Asbestos until further review. 

Then, a section of Sri Lankan media reported that the ban had nothing to with Asbestos, and was linked to the controversy of a Russian spy who went missing in Sri Lanka.