World Trade Organization (WTO) chief Pascal Lamy on Thursday urged WTO members to avoid playing "blame game" over the suspension of the Doha Round trade liberalization talks and focus on how to resume the talks.

"This is the time of hard thinking and deep reflection. It is the time for quiet thinking as opposed to megaphone diplomacy," Lamy told a session of the General Council, WTO's highest decision- making body in Geneva.

"I would urge all members to avoid the well-known blame game and instead use this period of reflection for serious and sober reflection on what is at stake here," he added.

The General Council meeting, participated by ambassadors of WTO 's 149 members, was convened two days after the collapse of last- ditch negotiations by major WTO members to break the long-time stalemate of the Doha Round.

Major WTO members, particularly the United States and European Union, have been bitterly trading blame in the wake of the collapse on Monday.

At the Thursday's meeting, the General Council formally endorsed Lamy's recommendation to suspend the faltering talks, which was launched in 2001 with an avowed aim to slash tariffs and trade-distorting subsidies in agriculture to help poorer countries ' economic development.

Lamy reiterated that he would not propose any new deadlines or a date for resumption of the talks. "This can only come when the conditions exist to permit renewed progress, and this means changes in entrenched positions."

"The ball is clearly in the court of members," he added.

Lamy also said that suspension of the negotiations meant that all progress made to date in the round was put on hold, but it was important that all negotiating offers remain on the table for when talks resume.

"We must now ensure that this progress does not unravel," he said.

Analysts have indicated that it is impossible to say when negotiations could restart. They forecast a thaw may not be possible until 2009 because of domestic political situations, notably the electoral calendar in the U.S..

Source: Xinhua