Ukraine set to complete WTO accession talks in May - ministry

KIEV, March 18 (RIA Novosti, Olga Bernatskaya) - Ukraine is determined to conclude all WTO accession talks before the end of May, the country's economy ministry said Saturday.

"Ukraine is planning to complete WTO accession negotiations before the next session of the working group that is due in the second half of May 2006," the ministry said.

As of now, Ukraine has to sign protocols on mutual access to commodities and services markets with Armenia, Colombia, Australia, and Kyrgyzstan.

A presidential administration official previously said that the country could complete talks on joining the body governing global trade as early as at the end of March 2006.

In mid-February, the U.S. granted it market economy status after the European Union declared Ukraine a market economy at the end of 2005.

The conclusion of Ukraine's talks with the Untied States on accession to the World Trade Organization (WTO) came as an unpleasant surprise for Russia. The stand of the U.S. is the only remaining obstacle to Russia's entry into the WTO, though Moscow had advanced further than Kiev on this road.