News
27.12.2007
Russia expects to complete WTO talks in coming months - Medvedkov
Russia expects to complete World Trade Organization (WTO) accession talks within the next few months, head of the Russian delegation to the talks and director of Russian Ministry of Economic Development Maxim Medvedkov told Interfax in an interview. "It is possible that new parties will come to the negotiating table, and that new issues will arise, but we are prepared for this, and are working towards the completion of accession talks within the next few months," he said. Medvedkov also said that during mid-December talks "the United Arab Emirates delegation demonstrated their desire for Russia's prompt accession to the WTO." Talks with the U.A.E. will continue in late January, he said. The most serious unresolved issue in the multilateral talks is agricultural subsidies, Medvedkov said. "We need to justify our demand that the level of agricultural subsidies permitted to Russia be set at a level considerably higher than the current one. Our colleagues in the Agriculture Ministry are tabulating all of our current and planned subsidy programs, and we feel that when we show our partners these calculations, they will understand our position," he said.
Issues remain in the bilateral talks with Saudi Arabia, Medvedkov said. "The situation with Saudi Arabia is difficult. Their demands concerning access to the Russian market are not compatible with the realities of bilateral trade between our countries, nor with the terms we have agreed to with other nations. So the negotiations are not finished, but we hope to resolve our issues in the near future," he said.
As for Ukrainian claims to Russia, a number of Ukrainian politicians do not conceal their wish to attempt, in case Ukraine joins the WTO ahead of Russia, to put forward a range of demands as a condition for our accession to this organization," Medvedkov said. "From the objective point of view, and many of our Ukrainian colleagues support this view, it will be more advantageous for Ukraine to resolve these problems when Russia becomes a WTO member and with the use of all WTO instruments," he said.
Answering the question on possible dragging on of the talks on Russian accession to the WTO, so that Ukraine could join the WTO earlier and put forward its claims to Russia, Medvedkov said that "it is possible to equally suppose that the talks on Ukrainian accession will drag on until the moment Russia joins the WTO."
"Our Ukrainian colleagues have come close to concluding the process, but recently the voting by the WTO General Council for Ukraine was postponed again for several months because of several unresolved issues. All this means is that the final stage of accession to the WTO is unpredictable, you can always expect surprises," he said.
