Russia, Kazakhstan may join WTO simultaneously - Medvedkov
MOSCOW. Jan 18 (Interfax) - Russia and Kazakhstan may join the World Trade Organization (WTO) virtually simultaneously, Maxim Medvedkov, the head of the Russian delegation in the negotiations on Russia's accession to WTO, said.
"I think Russia and Kazakhstan will join WTO simultaneously because Kazakhstan has made considerable headway in the negotiations," Medvedkov told a press conference in Moscow on Tuesday.
Medvedkov said the intervals between Russia's and Kazakhstan's accession to WTO will not be very long. "We are talking about several months, not years," he said.
Medvedkov believes Belarus will join the WTO much later. At the same time, he said Belarus also intends to step up the process on the country's accession to WTO.
Russia may complete the technical part of the negotiations as early as in April 2011, which will enable it to complete all procedures in 2011 and become a full-fledged WTO member in 2012, Medvedkov said.