(Interfax) - Membership of the World Trade Organization (WTO) is possible only if Russia's interest are upheld, Russian President Vladimir Putin said in his annual address to the Federal Assembly.
"We're conducting WTO accession talks only on terms that cater for Russia's economic interests,' Putin said.
"Clearly the Russian economy is now more open than the economies of many of the organization's members," he said.
"Russia must have unimpeded access to the world markets for all of its products," he said.