WASHINGTON, March 7 (RIA Novosti) - The United States wants to see Russia in the World Trade Organization, the U.S. secretary of state said Tuesday.
After a meeting with Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov, Condoleezza Rice said Russia was a growing economy and therefore had to be a member of the body governing global trade, which, she said, would be good for global economy.
However, Rice said the decision to admit Russia into the WTO had to be approved by both the White House and then the Congress.
She also said that a few questions remained to be coordinated, including with regard to agriculture.
At the same time, Lavrov expressed concerns over the slow progress in the Russia-U.S. talks on the WTO.
"The U.S. remains the only country with whom Russia has not signed a bilateral agreement," the Russian minister said.
According to Lavrov, Russia has been pushing to abolish the Jackson-Vanik amendment, which has long become "a household phrase". The amendment is a regulation adopted in the 1970s to limit trade between the U.S. and the Soviet Union in response to Soviet restrictions on Jewish emigration.
Russia is seeking to join the WTO this year, Economic Development Minister German Gref said earlier. However, Moscow's WTO negotiations with the U.S. have stalled over access to the Russian financial market. Russian economic ministry and banking officials, including Gref, have repeatedly said that the issue of admitting branches of foreign banks and insurance companies was sensitive given that Russia's banking system was not ready to compete with foreign banks.
Gref said experts from the two countries would discuss the remaining issues in early March, and then he and U.S. Trade Representative Rob Portman would hold a final discussion in late March or April.
