Russia reaches deal with US to join WTO

MOSCOW - Russia has reached a deal with the United States paving the way for Moscow to join the World Trade Organisation, Finance Minister Alexei Kudrin was quoted by news agencies as saying today.

RIA news agency quoted Kudrin as saying presidents George W. Bush and Vladimir Putin would sign a protocol on Russia's WTO entry when they meet in St Petersburg on Friday or Saturday, when the annual Group of Eight summit begins.

"I hope that a protocol will be signed before the G8, tomorrow or the day after," Kudrin was quoted by Interfax as saying.

Kudrin said the American side had dropped a demand that foreign banks be allowed to open branches in Russia instead of being required to open operating subsidiaries.

No comment was obtainable from the US side. Trade Representative Susan Schwab has held two days of talks in Moscow on Moscow's decade-old bid to join the 149-nation free trade club.

Russia is the biggest economy outside the world trade body. An accord with the United States would eliminate one of the last remaining obstacles to Russia WTO membership and set a positive tone for the G8 summit.

- REUTERS