MOSCOW, May 13 (RIA Novosti) - Geneva will host the next round of talks on Russia's accession to the World Trade Organization on May 25-29, Russia's top negotiator said on Wednesday.

Maxim Medvedkov said the WTO working group would discuss Russia's new proposals on most of the remaining unsettled issues, in particular the government's domestic agriculture subsidies.

The Russian and U.S. presidents earlier instructed their governments to expedite Russia's accession to the global trade body. Russia's Economics Ministry has said Russia could join before the end of 2009.

Russia has been negotiating its entry into the WTO for more than 15 years.

To date, Russia has finished the necessary bilateral negotiations with 60 interested countries, but has yet to coordinate positions on several issues, including agriculture, export duties for timber, and regulation of the activities of some state companies.

Russia is the world's only major economy still outside the WTO. The agreement of all 153 WTO members is necessary for a state to join the body.