Russia has announced it has completed bilateral talks with all of the 58 members of the Working Party of the World Trade Organization, but has still to sign bilateral protocols with some of them. It is also to complete multinational talks afterwards, which is expected to take six months.
"We are glad to be assured by the EU that the European Commission will facilitate the completion of these [multilateral] talks," the Russian delegate said.
Russia signed a bilateral WTO deal with its main trading partner, the United States, in Hanoi last weekend, but it must still close bilateral protocols with Costa Rica, Guatemala and El Salvador.
Moscow has yet to secure approval for its accession from Georgia and Moldova, energy-dependent former Soviet allies with whom it is locked in an ongoing diplomatic feud over breakaway regions.
"The parties highly estimated the bilateral talks on Russia's joining the World Trade Organization that Moscow and the United States have completed, and expressed the hope that Moscow will manage to complete the multilateral stage as soon as possible," the source said.
