Putin Says Russia Won’t Honor WTO Commitments If Not Accepted op MosNews.com, 4 juli 2006.

Russia will stop honouring its commitments to the World Trade Organization (WTO) if it is not accepted as a member of this global organization, Russian President Vladimir Putin said at a meeting with representatives of the International Chamber of Commerce — World Business Organization.

“Russia is not yet a WTO member and the United States is the only country we have been unable to agree accession terms with,” Putin said, quoted by the Interfax agency. “If for some reason we are unable to reach agreement [on WTO accession] then we’ll stop being bound by the commitments that we have not only accepted but which we are honouring while we are not even a member of the organization,” Putin said.

As MosNews reported earlier today, Putin’s senior foreign policy aide Sergei Prikhodko expressed hope that Russia will reach WTO accession deal with the United State before G8 summit scheduled to take place on July 15-17 in St. Petersburg. Prikhodko said, however, that if the agreement is not reached by that date, it won’t be a “problem”.

Bron: MosNews.com