U.S. Republican Senator John McCain called on the international community on Monday not to hastily push through Russia's accession to the World Trade Organization (WTO).
The White House should broaden the discussion on the issue, the Senator for the state of Arizona said.
Russia, the only major economy outside the global trade body, has been negotiating WTO membership for 17 years, although the average accession period is only five to seven years.
Washington has repeatedly claimed that the United States welcomes Russia's accession to the trade organization and has promised to help it speed up the process.
After a meeting with U.S. President Barack Obama in the Japanese city of Yokohama on Sunday, Russian President Dmitry Medvedev said "serious progress" had been made in Russia's WTO accession process.
Russian Finance Minister Alexei Kudrin said last week that the final accession procedures would start in two-four months and could be finalized next year.
McCain has consistently held a tough stance on Russia. He has been known to call Russia Prime Minister Vladimir Putin a "totalitarian dictator" and was quick to side with Georgia during the country's short war with Russia in 2008.
WASHINGTON, November 15 (RIA Novosti)
