MOSCOW, Dec 8 (AFP) - Whether Russia will be admitted to the WTO depends on the position the United States adopts in Russian-US bilateral negotiations on Moscow's bid, Economic Development Minister German Gref said Wednesday.
"The conclusion of the negotiations will depend on the political will of the US authorities," he told the Russian Senate.
President Vladimir Putin during a visit to Ankara on Monday warned against any attempt to use the World Trade Organization accession talks "for political ends." But he did not specifically cite the United States.
US-Russian negotiations have foundered to date on Washington's concerns over protection of intellectual property rights in Russia and what it sees as prohibitively high tariffs on aircraft imports.
Russia in May signed a bilateral accord on WTO accession with the European Union, its principal trading partner, and has struck deals with many other countries.
But it has yet to get the backing of the United States, Japan and some 20 other WTO members.
"Russia is not ready to force the negotiating process but that process must not delay its admission," said Gref, who hopes to complete the negotiations in the third quarter of 2005.
He estimated that Russia is losing 2.5 billion dollars (1.9 billion euros) a year because of its current exclusion from the WTO.
He added that a ban on the right of foreign banks to open subsidiaries in Russia was one of the most delicate issues in the talks.
12/08/2004 19:29 GMT - AFP