Russia to complete its chemical weapons elimination programme by 2015; Russia officially joins the WTO as its 156th member; European Union and Japan welcome Russia’s WTO accession; Russia to continue with its economic and commercial relationship with Syri
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    • In a significant development, Russia has officially joined the World Trade Organization to become the 156th member after a long accession process. The talks on entry into the Organization were held within the scope of the Working Group which included representatives of countries which had unresolved issues in trade with the Russian Federation (RF). Talks to this effect with Georgia, the European Union, and the United States were the most complex. The RF accession bid was finally decided upon at the WTO ministerial conference in Geneva on December 16, 2011. Russia's accessoin to the WTO was approved unanimously. As far as the US is concerned, WTO norms may not be applied in trade with it till the Jackon-Vanik Amendment is abrogated. According to the understanding reached, trade in this case will be regulated by the current bilateral trade agreement. 1 Meanwhile, the European Union has welcomed Russia’s WTO accession and has said that the move will facilitate investment and trade, help to accelerate the modernisation of the Russian economy and offer plenty of business opportunities for both Russian and European companies. Similar views have been echoed by Japan. 2

    In another development, according to reports, Russia will be through with the elimination of its chemical weapons stockpiles by December 2015. At present Russia is implementing the federal program for the elimination of chemical weapons stockpiles adopted back in 1996. The program’s costs stand at 371 billion roubles. So far 226 billion roubles have been spent. Russia has eliminated 26,500 tonnes of chemical weapons – about 66 percent of the total amount. 3 Meanwhile, the Foreign Ministry of Russia has come out with a statement that said that “Russian-Syrian commercial and economic relations, despite an internal conflict in Syria, develop dynamically” and that unilateral sanctions against Syria should not be deterrent for Russia to continue with its trade relations. 4

    According to reports, Deputy Prime Minister Dmitry Rogozin has said that Russia has allowed NATO to move armoured vehicles through the Ulyanovsk transit hub. 5

    According to reports, Russia is actively assisting South Korea to develop its civilian space programme. Within the framework of the bilateral intergovernmental agreement on cooperation in the exploration and use of outer space for peaceful purposes, Russia and South Korea have agreed to jointly design and create the South Korean space rocket complex with the light class carrier rocket KSLV-I. The contract on the creation of the complex was signed in October 2004. The first stage of the rocket was produced by Russia has been sent to South Korea. 6

    Reports noted that Gazprom’s chief Alexei Miller and Ukrainian Minister of Energy and Coal Mining Industry Yuri Boyko have discussed preparations for the forthcoming autumn-winter period, including uninterrupted transit of Russian gas by Naftogaz Ukrainy. In June 2012 Gazprom had given an advance of 2 billion US$ to Ukraine to ensure smooth gas transit. 7

    In other developments, according to reports, Russia and China have stated that any action which is designed to circumvent UN rules is not acceptable to them. This was in response to US State Department spokesperson Victoria Nuland’s announcement that Washington still planned to act in circumvention of the UN Security Council’s decisions on Syria, as it doubted that the Security Council would manage to reach a consensus on the crisis settlement. 8

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