Disagreements over membership issues could be resolved as the global alliance against terrorism is nurtured (251 words)

Published: 10/4/2001

Buoyed by the recent support for the alliance against terrorism, President Putin, speaking in Brussels, has complained once again that 'special demands' were being made of Russia in the course of the WTO accession negotiations. This is a clear indication that Putin will seek concessions in return for Russian support of the US-led actions against terrorists. The US trade representative, Robert Zellick, who visited Moscow this week, has, however, reiterated Washington's official position that there is no discrimination against Russia, nor will there be any special treatment for Russia in securing full WTO membership. The main points of disagreement between the two sides are agriculture and the import of civil aircraft into Russia. The issue of imports is reported to have caused what have been described as heated discussions between Zellick and German Gref, Minister of Economics and Trade Development. Given current circumstances and the increasingly close relationship between the two sides at the aerospace industry level at least, it seems likely that common ground will be found in the near future, opening the way for a breakthrough in the accession negotiations. In this context, the upcoming high-level Russia-US meetings (at the 20th-21st October APEC Shanghai summit followed by the mid-November visit of Putin to Washington) should be closely watched. Meanwhile, there has been no news from the current round of Russia-WTO working group bilateral consultations in Geneva, which started on Monday.

Article ID: 2799