OREANDA-NEWS. October 05, 2010. Russian Finance Minister Aleksei Kudrin stated that Russia had agreed on all aspects of its WTO accession with the US, reported the press-centre of OTKRITIE Financial Corporation.

View: This is a positive development that should help to boost the confidence of investors, particularly those in the US. However, WTO rules imply that all current members need to agree to the accession of a new member country. Russia still has to get agreement from Georgia due to the unresolved issue of control over customs in Abkhazia and South Ossetia.

This seems to be a tough hindrance, which we do not expect will be overcome anytime soon. Thus, we think investors may treat the developments positively, but we do not expect Russia to join the WTO in the near future.