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Monday, 01 September 2008 04:57 |
International Herald Tribune
Original Publish Date: August 25, 2008
Moscow - Prime Minister Vladimir Putin said on Monday that Russia saw no advantages from WTO membership and should freeze some commitments made during entry talks to the trade body, Interfax news agency reported.
"We propose continuing negotiations within the framework of the working group on WTO accession, but informing our partners of the need to exit some agreements which currently oppose the interests of the Russian Federation," the agency quoted Putin as saying.
"It turns out that we don't feel or see any advantages from (WTO) membership, if they exist at all. But we are carrying the burden ... We need to make this clear to our partners."
He was speaking at a government meeting in response to a proposal by First Deputy Prime Minister Igor Shuvalov.
Russia, the world's 10th largest economy, is by far the biggest country still outside the World Trade Organisation, or WTO, and has been negotiating membership since 1995.
Several Western officials, including U.S. Commerce Secretary Carlos Gutierrez have suggested that Russia's military operations in Georgia have put its WTO bid at risk.
Previously, it was thought that a deal could be reached by the end of this year, although contentious issues remained over trade in meat and timber.
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