GENEVA, May 30. /ITAR-TASS/. Some countries’ claims that Russia ignores commitments it took on when joined the World Trade Organization (WTO) in August 2012 are rather politically than economically motivated, Russia’s permanent representative at the WTO Gennady Ovechko told ITAR-TASS on Friday.
The US and EU representatives supported by Australia, Canada, Norway, Ukraine and Japan declared at the WTO General Council meeting in mid-May that Russia did not execute its liabilities in the trade organization. The US accused Russia of light-mindedness, an untransparent trade system and attempts to surround its economy with a wall.
“Russia always sticks to its international commitments,” said Ovechko, Russia’s first ever representative at the WTO. “We are swiftly accustoming ourselves to the organization - as you know, we had no adaptation period and faced the first lawsuit a year after official accession.” However, Russia was ready for a dialogue on all issues.
A normal constructive dialogue is a hard thing to do in an atmosphere where complaints are not economically but politically motivated, believes Ovechko who handed in his letter of credence to the WTO Director General Roberto Azevedo on Wednesday. “Criticism should be constructive, which we cannot say about all current claims,” he said.
Ovechko will have conversations with permanent representatives to the WTO for a detailed understanding of their motivation.