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Russia Signs WTO Accession
Protocol with Costa Rica
Russia and Costa Rica have
signed a protocol on the
completion of bilateral
negotiations on Russia's entry
to the World Trade Organization
(WTO), the economics ministry
said Wednesday.
Last November, Russia secured a
hard-fought bilateral agreement
with the United States, removing
the last major obstacle to its
joining the world's largest
trade body.
Russia and its ex-Soviet
neighbor Georgia said Wednesday
they are resuming admission
talks at the WTO headquarters in
Geneva. The South Caucasus
nation, which had previously
signed a bilateral WTO deal with
Russia, moved to renegotiate its
terms and threatened to block
the country's 13-year bid after
Moscow banned key Georgian
exports last March. The talks
stalled in the summer.
Russia signed a WTO deal with
Moldova, another Western-leaning
ex-Soviet nation that is already
a member of the global trade
body, late last year after
lifting a ban on Moldovan wine
and meat exports.
Russia has yet to sign protocols
on the completion of bilateral
talks on its WTO accession with
Guatemala.
The Economic Development and
Trade Ministry expects to
complete multilateral talks on
the country's admission to the
WTO by the middle of 2007.
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