Updated September 4, 2008

   The Russian experts are looking for the positive aspects of Russia's little chances to enter the WTO (World Trade Organization) in the nearest future tak

ing to account the military conflict in Georgia.

   The director of the Information bureau on Russia's entry to the WTO Aleksey Portansky is convinced that the withdrawal from the range of treatises with the partners on the world trade club, about which has declared earlier the first vice prime minister Igor Shuvalov, will not result in the revision of the agreements. "It goes about ten collateral agreements that probably will infringe the interest of our business", as Mr. Portansky explained.

   The director of the Institute of Economic Forecasting, Russian Academy of Sciences Victor Ivanter agreed, and declared that "nothing extraordinary will happen in the Russian economy, if Russia enters the WTO, but there is no any harm from non-joining this

organization". He underlined also that the rules of the World Trade Organization regulate mainly the export of commodities, and Russia provides the world markets with raw materials and high technology products of defense complex foremost.

"Both have nothing to do with the WTO", Mr. Ivanter marked.

   The chairman of the Russian State Duma's committee on economic policy, business and ownership, the member of the United Russia party Evgeny Fedorov reminded that the agreement on the entry to the WTO was signed with the United States in 2006, thus, the legislation of Russia as a country-applicant was analyzed then.

"The analysis is finished, and the i's are dotted, moreover, some laws have been approved for this analysis exactly, for instance, the fourth section of the Civil code", Evgeny Fedorov declared.

"Our partners say that Russia's legislation doesn't require any changes, but it doesn't permit Russia to develop further".

   The parliamentarian supposes that the suspension of Russia's entry to the WTO is

the perfect reason to pause and to "revise the core agreements with our trading partners" relating to the planned diversification of

the Russian economy by 2020. "We have to improve, first of all, the innovations market, since this part of the economy is undeveloped at all", Mr. Fedorov considers. "When Rusnanotech was established, it was agreed that the state corporation would be under the foreign jurisdiction, because the Russian jurisdiction doesn't permit using innovations, since it doesn't regard this as its market asset. Russia's economy has primary structure".

   At the moment, Evgeny Fedorov offers to c oncentrate all efforts

on bilateral trading agreements with other countries. "When Russia signs a sufficient amount of such agreements, the WTO will invite it to its community", as the head of the State Duma's committee said.

   Still, Russia shouldn't expect that it will be asked to enter the WTO, as the vice president of the Chamber

of Commerce and Industry George Petrov declared. However, Victor Ivanter is convinced that the European Union will definitely do this.

   However, all arguments were closed, when the experts started discussing the export and import of specific commodities. Mr. Fedorov, in particular, insisted that "birch and aspen can be processed in Russia", and Mr. Petrov claimed that only Scandinavian countries can turn this kind of wood into the cellulose. The experts discussed the issue of sugar cane that can't be delivered to Russia directly, but Ukraine's entry to the WTO and the presence of the Third Countries at the Ukrainian market is a loophole for the reexport of this commodity to Russia.

   The experts have discussed also the issue of chicken meat.

From September, 1 Rospotrebnadzor (Federal Supervision Service for Customer Rights Protection and Human Welfare) restricted the import of chicken of 19 American enterprises that resulted in the concerns of both the US government and the presidential candidates.

However, according to the speeches of the analysts, the core reason of the suspension of Russia's entry to the WTO is the policy. "Still, we have some time to revise Russia's economy", as Evgeny Fedorov declared.