The United States to support accession of Russia to WTO

The US will work with its international partners to ensure the speedy
accession of Russia into the World Trade Organization (WTO), the
deputy adviser to the National Security Council and the Economic
Security Council for International Economic Affairs, Michael Froman,
told a news briefing on Monday, RIA Novosti reports.

The US administration has repeatedly stated that the US has no
objections to the entry of Russia into the WTO, Barack Obama said
during a summer meeting in Washington with his Russian counterpart,
Dmitry Medvedev.

The press secretary of the Russian leader, Natalya Timakova, told
reporters today that Obama and Medvedev confirmed the completion of
bilateral negotiations on the accession of Russia to the WTO in a
telephone conversation on Friday.

Russia has been trying to become a WTO member since 1993, whereas
negotiations and the accession to the organization usually take five
to seven years altogether. Vice-premier and finance minister Alexei
Kudrin said on Friday that the final procedure for the accession of
Russia to the WTO will be launched within two to four months.
Theoretically, Russia could become a WTO member in ten months.