Multilateral talks on Russia's entry into the World Trade Organization (WTO) are not making much progress, a senior trade official said here on Thursday.

"On the multilateral side we've not been making good progress," said Stefan Johannesson, a senior Icelandic trade official who chairs the WTO Working Party on Russia's membership bid.

"There is significant work to be done, and I would not underestimate the need to accelerate work on the multilateral front," he told reporters after a Working Party meeting.

Russia's chief negotiator Maxim Medvedkov also acknowledged to reporters that progress on the multilateral front had been slow, but said he was still optimistic that Russia would be in a position to join within this year.

"We are not satisfied with what is happening multilaterally," he said, adding that the remaining issues are the most difficult ones.

Neither Johannesson nor Medvedkov gave details on the major issues that remain to be tackled, simply saying they are " technical issues".

Johannesson said, however, that Russia was making good progress toward WTO membership in its talks with individual members.

"It's quite clear that the Russians and the members have been making good progress on the bilaterals. They are more or less concluded with all members," he said.

According to WTO regulations, accession talks run along two tracks. A prospective member must hold negotiations with all current WTO members as a whole, while it must also strike parallel bilateral agreements with concerned trading partners before it can finally be admitted.

Up to now Russia has concluded bilateral talks with most of the concerned members, but it has yet to strike deals with Colombia, Australia and the United States.

Russia, the largest economy still outside the Geneva-based world trade body, has been negotiating entry since 1994. It has had to embark on a major set of legislative reforms to fall in line with WTO rules, including producing a new customs code, and has set a new target date of spring this year for joining.

Talks with the U.S. remain a difficult test for Russia. The two sides have already met in Geneva these days and they will continue negotiations next week.

Source: Xinhua