Fans of Moscow street food can breathe a sigh of relief as city authorities have denied that there are plans to remove stalls selling shawarma [kebabs] from the city's streets.
The capital's trade department head Alexei Nemeryuk, said that a statement about the fast food kiosks that he made in the interview with the Komsomolskaya Pravda newspaper was misinterpreted due to “technical problems.”
“The question was about one particular stall with shawarma, which is standing in some place. The residents complained. There is no ban on shawarma, it is sold, it is [sold] in restaurants,too,” Nemeryuk was quoted as saying by the Dozhd television channel.
Komsomolskaya Pravda on Tuesday published an interview with Nemeryuk, in which he said that Moscow will get rid of all shawarma kiosks due to their poor sanitary conditions.
“We are removing shawarma from the streets. There will be no shawarma anymore,” Nemeryuk said, according to the newspaper.
His statement immediately caused panic among Moscow residents and resulted in an Internet campaign to support shawarma.
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