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Russia WTO negotiations with Vietnam over within month - Gref

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Russia has just completed a key round of talks with Vietnam over its accession to the World Trade Organization, and will negotiate a final deal within a month, the Russian economics minister said Wednesday.
MOSCOW, April 4 (RIA Novosti) - Russia has just completed a key round of talks with Vietnam over its accession to the World Trade Organization, and will negotiate a final deal within a month, the Russian economics minister said Wednesday.

"There is an agreement that we will be able to resolve the one or two outstanding issues in the coming month," German Gref said.

Russia's chief trade negotiator, Maxim Medvedkov, held the first round of talks in the capital Hanoi April 1. Vietnam joined the WTO in late 2006.

On Wednesday, Medvedkov is scheduled to have talks with negotiators from another WTO newcomer, Cambodia.

Gref said Russia aims to enter the WTO by the end of 2007 so that it could start a fresh political cycle as a member of the world's largest trade bloc.

"It is critically important to complete all [WTO accession] talks this year," he said. "It is important for our domestic political calendar."

Russia's next parliamentary elections are due in December this year, to be followed by presidential polls in early 2008.

Moscow has signed bilateral protocols with all but four WTO members, and is yet to complete multilateral talks with its trade partners within the global trade body.

Moscow is also to resolve a dispute with its former Soviet ally Georgia, which withdrew from the bilateral WTO agreement after Moscow banned key Georgian exports in March 2006, as well as to sign a protocol with Guatemala.

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