McDonald's Moscow Restaurant Reopened

Russia's first McDonald's restaurant, shuttered over sanitary issues, reopened Wednesday after a three-month hiatus, reports Moscow Times.

When the restaurant had to close the doors three months ago, many interpreted this as a sign of worsening tensions between Moscow and Washington over the Ukraine crisis.

The move came just weeks before a third round of U.S. and EU sanctions on Russia.

Staff at the flagship restaurant on downtown Moscow's Pushkin Square applauded as the doors were thrown open yesterday.

- The company has always been outside politics, said McDonald's spokeswoman Svetlana Polyakova, referring to the allegations that the closure was politically motivated.

McDonald's conflict with Russia's sanitary watchdog, Rospotrebnadzor, escalated dramatically in August when four of its restaurants, including the one on Pushkin Square, were closed because of alleged hygiene violations.