Russian President Dmitry Medvedev explained on Tuesday how the country will join the World Trade Organization.
"We will join the WTO separately, but as part of the Customs Union [with Belarus and Kazakhstan]. Everyone should at last understand this... There can be many unions but we've got only one WTO," Medvedev told journalists.
Earlier Tuesday, Russia, the only major economy outside the global trade body, moved one step closer to joining the WTO when it signed a memorandum of understanding on economic issues with the European Union.
Moscow has been negotiating WTO entry for 17 years, although an average accession period for a nation is five to seven years. Russia is now likely to join the organization next year.
In June 2009, the prime ministers of Russia, Kazakhstan and Belarus decided to join the WTO as a single customs territory, but the idea was later dropped as the countries had different degrees of readiness for membership.
One of the stumbling blocks in negotiations with the EU was timber export duties. Russia wanted to introduce prohibitive rates to stimulate the wood processing industry, but Finland, one of the main consumers of Russian timber, opposed the idea.
"Basically, after our agreements with the United States and the EU, Russia's admission to the WTO is in fact becoming a reality," Medvedev said.
EU President Herman Van Rompuy said on Tuesday that Russia should join the WTO as soon as possible.
BRUSSELS, December 7 (RIA Novosti)
