GENEVA, Dec 16: Russia plans to intensify its efforts to become a member of the World Trade Organization (WTO) but does not want to set a target date for entry, Finance Minister Alexei Kudrin said on Monday.

“We do not want to have a Sword of Damocles hanging over us, which would happen if we set dates,” he told journalists.

President Vladimir Putin has said joining the 144-nation WTO is a vital part of his plans to turn Russia into a vibrant Western-leaning market economy.

But there has been speculation that Moscow might want to slow the pace of accession talks ahead of presidential elections in 2004.

However Kudrin, who spoke after meeting WTO chief Supachai Panitchpakdi, said that if Russia could prevent its partners from making additional demands, the country could join the Geneva-based WTO in the “near future”.

Speaking through an interpreter, he subsequently adjusted the time frame to the “foreseeable future”.

He did not spell out what the additional demands might be.

Talks on Russia’s entry, which began in the mid-1990s, still have a number of issues to resolve, notably in the areas of agriculture, financial services and telecommunications.

While acknowledging there was still work to be done, Kudrin said the time had come to quicken the pace of the discussions.

“We have reached a stage where we can think in terms of intensifying efforts to join the WTO,” he said.

Supachai told journalists that WTO negotiators and their Russian counterparts hoped to be able to agree on what was left to do during three days of talks in Geneva.

The two sides then planned to hold monthly meetings in a bid to overcome the remaining obstacles, he said.

Supachai’s predecessor Mike Moore, who handed over the WTO helm at the end of August, frequently argued that Russia should be in the body in time for next September’s key ministerial conference in Cancun, Mexico.

Moscow officials have also said in private they would like to be in by then, as the conference will make crucial decisions on the current Doha Round of trade liberalisation negotiations.

Any agreements reached in the round, formally due to be wrapped up by the end of 2004, will especially affect Russia as a major economy once it has entered.—Reuters