Ex-Soviet pact may delay Russia WTO bid

BRUSSELS (Reuters) - Russia's bid to join the World Trade Organization (WTO) could be delayed by Moscow's decision to relaunch entry talks jointly with Belarus and Kazakhstan, the senior official steering the negotiations said on Wednesday.

"The decision came as quite a surprise and there was no indication from Moscow ... It could delay the accession of Russia (to the WTO)," Stefan Johannesson, who chairs the WTO's key working group on Russia's membership bid, told Reuters.

He said he had not been notified by Russia beforehand.

Russian Prime Minister Vladimir Putin said on Tuesday that Russia, Belarus and Kazakhstan would stop separate negotiations to join the WTO, and begin joint accession talks as part of a new, ex-Soviet customs union.

Russia, which has been trying for more than a decade to join, is the largest economy to remain outside the 153-member global trade watchdog.

Putin, announcing plans to form a customs union with Belarus and Kazakhstan, blamed tortuous WTO accession talks for blocking integration with its ex-Soviet neighbors.

There is also a powerful domestic lobby which says Russia's development will be stunted by entry. Senior Kremlin officials have warned that Moscow is losing patience with Western promises to let it join.

LEGAL PROBLEMS

Putin said talks will start afresh on the basis of a new agreement between the three former Soviet states, which intend to form the customs union from January 1, 2010. No group of countries has ever joined the WTO as a single customs union.

"Whether these countries could join as part of a customs union is unclear," Johannesson, who is also Iceland's ambassador to the EU, said.

"This would be a very complex issue that could have legal implications which could delay the talks."

EU Trade Commissioner Catherine Ashton said last week she had agreed with Russian Economy Minister Elvira Nabiullina that Moscow's WTO accession should be completed by year-end, saying the two sides had a "common understanding."

But the move by Moscow to join forces with two countries less advanced in their bid to join the trade watchdog could force Brussels to rethink its position.

U.S. SUPPORT

U.S. Trade Representative Ron Kirk was less positive on completing the talks this year after his meeting with Nabiullina, but said he supported Moscow's bid.

Moscow's accession stalled after the United States put the issue on ice over its opposition to Russia's war with Georgia in 2008.

A trade spat between Moscow and Washington over a Russian ban on some U.S. meat imports, on health concerns related to the recent outbreak of the H1N1 virus -- otherwise known as swine flu -- has also hampered Russia's WTO bid.

Moves by Moscow to place duties on imports of timber and cars from the EU, and threats of further tariffs on other goods ranging from shoes to furniture, have also hurt the WTO talks.

(Editing by Mark Trevelyan)