(updating with comments from Russia's Gref)
SAINT PETERSBURG (AFX) - US Trade Representative Susan Schwab said she expects an agreement between the US and Russia on Russia's accession to the WTO in 'two to three months'.
'Obviously, the issues that are left at the end of the negotiations are the ones that are the thorniest, but yes, these could be resolved and there could be a bilateral agreement,' perhaps as early as September, she told reporters.
Schwab said days of near non-stop negotiations here had made 'a lot of progress'.
US President George W. Bush and Russian counterpart Vladimir Putin earlier acknowledged that their negotiators had been unable to reach an agreement ahead of the G8 summit on Russia's WTO accession.
Russian Economy Minister German Gref told a news conference that the main stumbling block was a disagreement over Russian health standards for US meat products.
Some of Moscow's trading partners suspect the health regulations are applied in order to justify politically motivated embargoes.
Gref said Washington had asked Moscow to issue certificates authorising the entry of US meat products before the necessary checks had been carried out.
'The health of the population was involved...We have to carry out all the procedures to guarantee the safety of produce sold in Russia,' he said.
The US has in addition been pressing for Russian guarantees on the opening of the country's financial sector to foreign participants and for a reduction in agricultural subsidies. steve.whitehouse@afxnews.com ok/sw/nh/sw COPYRIGHT Copyright AFX News Limited 2005. All rights reserved. The copying, republication or redistribution of AFX News Content, including by framing or similar means, is expressly prohibited without the prior written consent of AFX News. AFX News and AFX Financial News Logo are registered trademarks of AFX News Limited