Russia soon to join the WTO, says minister

GENEVA - Russia has entered the final stage of its 17-year-bid to join the World Trade Organization (WTO) and outstanding issues should be resolved in the coming months, Economy Minister Elvira Nabiullina said on Tuesday.

The comments indicate that the largest economy still outside the 153-member WTO could join the body that regulates world trade in the course of 2011.

"This is the final stage of our accession negotiations," Nabiullina told reporters.