Mikhail Delyagin: Russia may enter WTO in seven years

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Russia will be able to join the World Trade Organization (WTO) in approximately seven years, after its all industry’s branches will be fully modernized and it will become competitive at world market; on July 31, Globalization Problems Institute Director Mikhail Delyagin forecasted; a REGNUM correspondent informs.

At present, according to Mr. Delyagin, economic sequences of Russia’s joining the WTO have not been calculated yet. Mr. Delyagin confirmed the thesis, citing the Russian Economic Development and Trade Ministry Department on Trade Talks Chief, Russian Delegation for Talks on Russia’s Joining WTO Head Maxim Medvedkov, who said that “if we join the WTO in 2007, we will have time to realize those pluses and minuses, which will be received by us from the joining the WTO.” In such way, according to M. Delyagin, Mr. Medvedkov “recognized that it was basically uninteresting for them, what Russia would receive as a result of the joining.” It is worth stressing, as REGNUM informed earlier, on July 31, Mr. Medvedkov stated that Russia would not join WTO before 2007.

Also, Mr. Delyagin stressed that talks on joining the organization have been carried out only concerning agriculture, civil aviation, tariff and financial spheres. Many other key questions, such as motor-car industry, component mechanical engineering, chemical branches, which would unambiguously lose, if Russia joins the WTO, were not even being discussed, the Globalization Problems Institute director stressed.