SYDNEY, September 3 (RIA Novosti) - Russia's envoy to a 21-nation Pacific Rim economic alliance said Australia and other countries in the region support Moscow's bid to join the World Trade Organization (WTO).
Vasily Dobrovolsky's comments came after a meeting with senior officials of the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC) as part of the eight-day forum of the organization, which opened in Sydney Sunday. APEC countries make up around 60% of the global economy.
"We hope to join the WTO soon, and we are thankful to Australia and other APEC members who back our early accession to the WTO," Dobrovolsky said, adding he hoped APEC's support would be reflected in a final document of the forum.
Russia's Minister for Economic Development and Trade German Gref will meet with APEC trade ministers to discuss his country's WTO bid on the sidelines of the forum September 5-7, the ministry press service said.
Russia has been seeking WTO membership since September 2005, and hopes to finally join the trade bloc by the end of this year. Moscow has concluded talks with the U.S., Australia, Canada, South Korea, Japan, Guatemala and Vietnam. Amongst APEC countries, Russia still has to sign a bilateral protocol with Cambodia.
The latest round of talks on Russia's WTO bid was held in Geneva in late July and focused on customs regulations and free economic zones. Russia's state agricultural subsidies were also high on the agenda as the most sensitive issue. WTO members consider Russia's projected subsidies of $9.2 billion per year to be excessive.
Leaders of APEC nations, including Russia, China, the United States, Japan and South Korea, will meet for a summit in Sydney September 8-9.
