Agence France Presse | December 10, 2001
GENEVA - Russia could be seated around the World Trade Organisation (WTO) negotiating table as a fully-fledged member by the next ministerial conference in two years' time, the head of the global trade body said on Monday.
Mike Moore, WTO director-general, made the comment as Russian delegates held informal talks at WTO headquarters here on the terms of entry by Russia into the 142-member trade body.
The meeting comes a day ahead of China's historic accession. After 15 years of difficult negotiations, Beijing will become the 143rd WTO member on Tuesday after WTO ministers formally accepted the country at their November conference in Doha, Qatar. "In my view Russia will be sitting at the table as a full member at the next ministerial. I think this is possible but of course it is up to the members," Moore said according to a WTO source.
WTO ministers gather for what is the organisation's highest authority at least once every two years. In Doha, they agreed the agenda for a new series of talks to further liberalise trade.
Talks on Russia's accession later on Monday were due to review progress and set a timetable for a formal meeting of the working party which could take place at the end of January, trade sources said.
"By then it's hoped there will be the first draft of the working party report which means the real trade-offs can be made by then," a source said.
"In fact things are moving very fast."
Russia is expected to meet bilaterally and plurilaterally with WTO members on Tuesday and Wednesday.
Moore said in Hong Kong last month that in meetings with Russian President Vladimir Putin in Moscow the president had "understood completely" the mechanism for joining the WTO and agreed the process would help Russia's own internal reforms.
But despite his confidence, Moore acknowledged at the time that there were "enormous problems" facing Russia, particularly in the area of agriculture.
Russia first applied to join the global trade body in 1993 when it was still called the General Agreement on Tariffs and Trade but negotiations really got underway in 1995.
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