MOSCOW, September 30. /TASS/. Russian Economic Development Minister Maxim Reshetnikov called for joint efforts within the G20 to address various forms of trade distortion through a comprehensive, cross-sectoral approach. He made the remarks in his column "G20 Trade Crossroads: Where Countries Meet or Part Ways?" for US magazine Newsweek.

"The WTO solidified the instruments that countries can legitimately use to respond to the surges in imports and various forms of trade distortions, primarily trade remedies and the disciplines under the WTO Agreement on Subsidies and Countervailing Measures. The improvement and adaptation of these mechanisms is in our hands. We should work together in the G20 and WTO to improve the multilateral rules in order to address various forms of trade distortions in a comprehensive cross-sectoral manner," the minister wrote.

He stressed that G20 dialogue and joint decisions should also not be used to legitimize measures that some of its members adopt at the national level.

"The G20 is a platform where we need to reach agreements respecting the diversity of views of its members. If, instead, we use this platform for mutual naming and blaming, or put forward solutions that are clearly unacceptable for some of its members from the outset, the G20 risks losing its practical purpose," Reshetnikov stressed.