MOSCOW, October 13 (RIA Novosti) - Russian Prime Minister Viktor Zubkov hosted talks in Moscow on Saturday with the United States state and defense secretaries.
The government press office said the meeting with Condoleezza Rice and Robert Gates, on the second day of their visit to the Russia, focused on trade and economic relations.
The Russian side stressed the need to conclude the negotiating process on Russia's accession to the World Trade Organization and the importance of abolishing the Jackson-Vanik amendment, which denies normal U.S. trade relations to countries with non-market economies that restrict their citizens' right to emigrate.
The controversial amendment is still applied to Russia, and has proved a key barrier for the country's entry to the WTO.
