Russia to support Kazakhstan, Belarus bids for WTO: envoy

MOSCOW. November 17. KAZINFORM Russia will support Kazakhstan and Belarus in their efforts to join the World Trade Organization (WTO) after Moscow itself joins the trade bloc, Russia's top WTO negotiator Maxim Medvedkov said Wednesday.

According to Xinhua, he told a press conference here that Russia has been ahead of Kazakhstan by one year and ahead of Belarus by two years in the WTO accession process.

"It will be easier for our partners in the Customs Union (to join the WTO), because Russia has spent two years in WTO negotiations on the complicated problems regarding to the creation of the Customs Union," Medvedkov told a press conference.

Before the establishment of the Customs Union, the three nations have agreed to seek a joint accession to the WTO.

Meanwhile, Medvedkov said that the Russian laws correspond to the WTO requirements "by 99 percent" and he believed that there would be no problems with the adaptation of WTO rules.

According to the official, after Russia joins WTO, the country' s gross domestic product could fall no more than 0.5 percent, as only a few sectors of the Russian economy would be affected.

Russia and Georgia signed an agreement in Geneva on Nov. 10 under the mediation of Switzerland, removing a vital hurdle for Russia joining the 153-member trade bloc.

Russia, which has been seeking WTO membership for more than 18 years, is the largest economy remaining outside the global trade watchdog.

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