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Biden: Russia’s WTO entry linked to human rights

11 March 2011 02:08 (UTC +04:00)

Baku-APA. U.S. Vice President Joe Biden told a group of Russian human rights activists, journalists and religious leaders on Thursday that Russia’s accession to the World Trade Organization could hinge on its commitment to protect human rights, APA reports quoting cbsnews.com website.

A number of people present at the meeting said Biden told them that the U.S. could link a vote on repealing a law that discriminates against Russian trade to Russia’s record on the rule of law and democracy.

"Biden basically said that in one way or another Russia’s accession to the WTO could depend ... to some degree on how certain human rights issues are being dealt with," said Oleg Orlov, head of the respected Memorial rights group. There was no immediate comment from Biden or his staff on the meeting.

"He was very receptive to our ideas," Orlov said.

The Obama administration regards fully integrating Russia into the world economy as key to its development and stability, but Biden’s comments to mainly anti-Kremlin activists suggest the issue of human rights remains a concern in Washington.

The largest economy outside the WTO, Russia has sought membership, with varying levels of enthusiasm, for the past decade and a half. Although the country wants to improve its prospects for international trade, it has been leery of dropping some protectionist tariffs.

The WTO requires members to extend unconditional most-favored-nation trade status to all other members. But the U.S. currently denies this status to Russia under the Jackson-Vanik amendment, a law passed in 1974 in an effort to pressure the Soviet Union to allow emigration, primarily of Jews.

Although U.S. presidents have granted Russia annual waivers to the law since 1994, business leaders and officials in the U.S. and Russia complain that the continued existence of the discriminatory law undermines relations. Congress, however, has so far refused to repeal the law, arguing that it would send the wrong message to Moscow and deprive Washington of leverage in promoting human rights.

Biden later met Prime Minister Vladimir Putin to discuss WTO entry and visa issues. There was no statement on the precise content of the meeting, though Biden was thought to be seeking a clear commitment that Russia would adopt the legal reforms necessary to join the WTO, something that European Union officials failed to secure during talks with Putin in February.

In opening remarks Putin and Biden had a lightly barbed exchange about ending the laborious U.S.-Russia visa regime. Putin is leading a push to abolish visa requirements with as many Western nations as possible, but Western leaders have been cautious and noncommittal.

Biden was to cap his two-day visit with a speech on U.S.-Russian relations at a Moscow university.