Russia, EU to sign WTO accession document on Dec. 7

Russia and the European Union were expected to sign a document Dec. 7 concerning Russia's accession to the World Trade Organization, Deputy Prime Minister Alexander Zhukov said Wednesday.

Speaking at the seventh session of the Russian-Spanish inter-governmental commission on economic and industrial cooperation, Zhukov said Russia's accession to the WTO "is a foreign trade priority."

"I hope very much the document about the end of the talks between Russia and the EU will be signed on December 7" during the Russia-EU summit in Brussels, he said.

Zhukov also mentioned the memorandum signed by Russia and EU on Nov. 24 as the completion of bilateral talks, saying the memorandum reflected both sides' stances on the remaining disputed issues.

"All solutions for major issues have been found, including timber duties," he said.

Russia, which has been seeking WTO membership for more than 15 years, is the largest economy remaining outside the global trade watchdog.

Prime Minister Vladimir Putin said in September that Russia was unlikely to join the WTO by the projected date of Jan. 1, 2011.
(Source:xinhua)