Russia to help Belarus with WTO accession talks

MINSK. February 4. KAZINFORM Russia will help Belarus to complete the WTO accession talks faster, Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary of Russia to Belarus Alexander Surikov told a video briefing to discuss Belarus-Russia cooperation prospects in 2012, Kazinform refers to BelTA.

The ambassador underlined that Belarus and Kazakhstan will be able to complete the WTO accession talks faster with the help of Russia that has recently joined the organization. "It is obvious that our efforts will help Kazakhstan and Belarus to conclude all the stages of the talks faster to become WTO members," Alexander Surikov said.

"We will provide assistance, our negotiators will take part in the talks," he said.

The diplomat agreed that there will be some negative consequences for the countries. "Yes, indeed, there will be negative consequences. WTO accession will be good for the raw materials industry. It will benefit Kazakhstan which economy is dominated by this industry. Belarus' raw materials industry is insignificant, therefore, there will be some negative consequences," the ambassador said.