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BRUSSELS -- The European Union, the United States and Russia will hold detailed ministerial talks this week on Moscow's bid to join the World Trade Organization, diplomats said Friday.
"This is a shift from the technical level to gauge the temperature at a high political level to see if the outstanding issues can be resolved soon," a diplomat familiar with preparations for the talks said.
"They need to see if the negotiations have reached the endgame," he said.
EU Trade Commissioner Catherine Ashton, United States Trade Representative Ron Kirk and Russian Economic Development Minister Elvira Nabiullina will meet on the sidelines of the St. Petersburg International Economic Forum, which starts June 4.
Russia is the largest economy outside the global trade watchdog.
"A great deal of work remains, particularly by the Russian Federation, in order to take the accession process forward to the finish line," said Nefeterius McPherson, a spokeswoman for Kirk.
The WTO's working group on Russian WTO membership negotiations met last week in Geneva, which both the United States and the group's chair described as positive.
"Some progress was made on the draft texts put forward by the Russian side spelling out commitments in six areas," said Stefan Johannesson, the group's chair and also Iceland's envoy to the European Union.
WTO Talks Planned for St. Pete
01 June 2009
Reuters
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