Russia should be able to join the World Trade Organization (WTO) in 2011, the last major economy to do so, the European Union's top official said at a summit in Brussels Tuesday, dpa reported
Russia has been bidding to join the trading group since 1993, but has seen its efforts flounder in a number of disputes with current members. On Tuesday, Russian and EU officials signed a deal ending trade rows which the EU had said must be solved before WTO accession.
"We believe this (signature) is a milestone, because Russia becoming a WTO member in 2011 is now a very realistic perspective," said European Commission President Jose Manuel Barroso. The commission is the EU executive and manages its trade policy.
Russia's chances of joining the WTO seemed to stumble a year ago when it announced plans to launch a customs union with Belarus and Kazakhstan, but Barroso said that that was no longer seen as an obstacle to accession
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