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Putin pledges to bring Russia phytosanitary rules in line with WTO requirements

Russian Prime Minister hoped the negotiating process will be over already in 2011

MOSCOW, October 17 (Itar-Tass) — Russian Prime Minister Vladimir Putin on Monday promised that Russia will bring its phytosanitary control regulations in line with World Trade Organization (WTO) requirements.

“We will meet with our colleagues in St. Petersburg tomorrow [at a summit of CIS heads of government] and I hope we will adopt new sanitary and phytosanitary rule applicable within the Customs Union of Russia, Belarus and Kazakhstan,” Putin said at a meeting of the consultative council on foreign investments. “In fact, we will bring these rules in line with the WTO norms.” The move was discussed within the negotiations on Russia’s accession of the World Trade Organization.

According to earlier reports, Putin said he hoped the negotiating process will be over already in 2011. “We, on our part, have done everything for that,” he said in an interview with Chinese media. In his words, basic problems have been settled in general, the problem now is purely political one. “It depends on our key partners,” he said. In his words, Russia has brought its domestics laws in compliance with WTO requirements and settled all basic issues with all key partners in the negotiations.

Problems of the agricultural sector, such as sanitary measures, food supplies quotas, and the issue of industrial assembly of motor vehicles have long been in the focus of talks. The bulk of them have been squared, he added.