MOSCOW. Aug 16 (Interfax) - For practical purposes, Russia has reached its limit of concessions in talks on joining the World Trade Organization, Deputy Economic Development Minister Maxim Medvedkov told the Gazeta newspaper in an interview published on Friday.
"We have informed our negotiating partners," he said.
"The talks cover access to the goods and services markets, conditions for agriculture and systemic issues. When I said we cannot make more concessions, I meant the goods and services market. Our position is that Russia should join the WTO on standard conditions," Medvedkov said.
Russia cannot equalize domestic and foreign trade fuel prices, Medvedkov said. "This is not a standard requirement. We cannot commit ourselves to this," he said.
Nor can Russia sign an agreement under which it should give up supporting its aircraft building industry and open its market to foreign manufacturers without any restrictions, Medvedkov said.
These are probably all the demands that Russia cannot accept but there are also 30 to 40 issues concerning, for example, the registration of enterprises and foreign trade licensing. These issues should be resolved in a legally sound way, he said.
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