"We have reached such a stage in our WTO negotiations when only a few issues are left to be addressed," Elvira Nabiullina said. "But some countries and companies trying to resolve their problems through financial negotiations should give up [these plans]."
Poland said last week it could bar Russia's entry to the WTO if Moscow failed to lift the 2005 embargo imposed on Polish meat imports over sanitary standards.
Addressing a roundtable of Russian and European Union businessmen, Nabiullina said the delayed WTO negotiations were causing financial losses to both EU and Russian companies. She was speaking a day before an EU-Russia summit in Portugal, where President Vladimir Putin is expected to raise the issue of WTO membership.
The EU's plan to limit Russian business operations in its energy market has also aroused Moscow's concerns. The EU plans to pass new laws to reform its energy market and divide companies into producers and sellers, which would make it difficult for Russian energy giant Gazprom [RTS: GAZP] to acquire assets in Europe.
Moscow said earlier this month it would ask the WTO to protect its interests if the EU passed the laws.
Nabiullina said Thursday she would meet with EU Trade Commissioner Peter Mandelson to discuss Russia's WTO bid later in the day. "I hope we will be able to discuss the timeframe and agenda of the negotiations, which will hopefully be completed soon."
The Russian minister continued saying that Europe remained a strategic partner for Russia whose economy was booming. "In January-September 2007, GDP growth was 7.4% and is expected to reach 7.3% by the end of the year," she said.
Nabiullina said investment had also increased by 21.2% in the first nine months of this year, which is twice as much as in 2006. Unlike in previous years, the driving force behind the industrial growth was not energy companies but manufacturing, construction, and food sectors.
She singled out three main points of Russia's economic development, starting with the need to provide a favorable business environment and develop financial markets.
"Initial public offerings (IPOs) held in the first half of 2007 totaled $25 billion, which is 50% more than in 2006," the minister said.
Another essential moment is the formation of development institutes such as the Russian Venture Company and the Bank of Development. Nabiullina said the government had increased capitalization of these institutes by another $25 billion this year.
The minister also called for diversifying exports, adding that Russia could be classified as an open country, considering that foreign trade accounted for 50% of its GDP.
