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Obama and Medvedev press for quick Russia WTO entry

27 May 2011 08:43 (UTC +04:00)

Baku - APA-Economics. President Barack Obama and Russian President Dmitry Medvedev pressed Thursday to speed up Russia’s bid to join the World Trade Organization, Reuters reported.

Obama, who met Medvedev on the sidelines of the G8 summit in France, told reporters Russia’s entry would be good for the world economy and expressed confidence it could be accomplished.

Medvedev said the process needed a new impetus and called for negotiations to be stepped up.

"We think that Russia’s accession to the WTO will be good for the Russian economy, will be good for the U.S. economy, will be good for the world economy, and we are confident that we can get this done," Obama said. "It will be a key building block in expanding trade and commerce."

Obama, as part of his drive to improve relations with Moscow, has pushed for the completion of Russia’s bid to join the WTO after more than 17 years of negotiations, and is pressing the U.S. Congress to normalize trade between the two countries permanently.

Moscow hopes to finish the WTO negotiating process this year, and Medvedev said he hoped the talks could enter their "final phase."

"I hope we will be able to finalize the process, bring it into the final phase, but certain impulses are required," he said.

The two leaders, who have developed a rapport since Obama came into the White House, also discussed Iran, missile defence, and the situation in the Middle East and North Africa.