SYDNEY, September 6 (RIA Novosti) - Russia is unlikely to complete all necessary formalities to join the World Trade Organization (WTO) by the end of this year as was planned previously, the economics minister said Thursday.
"We have set ourselves the task of completing all negotiations, and so far we are running on schedule to finish them by the end of the year," German Gref said after his meeting with counterparts from the United States, the European Union, Canada, Australia and South Korea at the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC) forum in Sydney. The forum runs September 2-9.
Gref also met with European Trade Commissioner Pascal Lamy and Deputy U.S. Trade Representative Susan Schwab. "They all think it is hard but possible," the Russian minister said.
Foreign and trade ministers of 21 APEC economies also called in a joint statement Thursday for faster progress in negotiations on Russia's bid to join the 151-member WTO.
"We welcomed progress in negotiations of the Russian Federation's accession to the WTO and underlined the importance of efforts to expedite the negotiations," the ministers' said in their statement after two days of negotiations ahead of the APEC summit September 8-9.
Russia has been seeking WTO membership since September 2005. To join the organization, Russia has to complete bilateral talks with WTO members who wish to discuss trade issues with the potential member, and has to finish multilateral discussions within the WTO Working Party of 50 nations. Moscow has concluded bilateral talks with the U.S., Australia, Canada, South Korea, Japan, Guatemala and Vietnam. Among APEC countries, Russia still has to sign a bilateral protocol with Cambodia.
During negotiations in Geneva in the fall, Russia hopes to coordinate the remaining 12 out of 46 sections of the WTO Working Party's report required for Russia to join the organization, Gref said.
The latest round of talks on Russia's WTO bid was held in Geneva in late July and focused on customs regulations and free trade 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.
Gref said his negotiations during the APEC forum highlighted the state subsidies, intellectual property rights and export duties on timber. The EU, Russia's main trading partner, objects to Moscow's plans to gradually levy a prohibitory duty on round timber.
The minister also said U.S. experts would visit Moscow for further talks in September, and a Russian delegation would go Cambodia to complete bilateral talks later this month.
In late September, Russia will also negotiate with Saudi Arabia, another WTO member that has initiated bilateral trade talks with Moscow within its WTO bid.
APEC ministers welcomed Russia's proposal to host the 2012 APEC summit in its Far Eastern port of Vladivostok, and applauded Moscow's initiative to invest $500,000 in APEC's Support Fund.
