Alexander Pankin, the Russian Deputy Foreign Minister said on Thursday that no one discussed about Russia’s withdrawal from the WTO, adding that Moscow will not take this step.
In response to reporters’ questions about this issue, on the sidelines of the Petersburg International Economic Forum, Pankin explained that there are no discussions about this topic.
“We will not take such steps because no matter how difficult it is in the WTO, we have consciously joined it based on the benefits we expected and obtained; we will not close that door,” he added.
Russia became a member of the WTO (World Trade Organization) on August 22, 2012, after negotiating for 18 years.
The headquarters of the WTO is located in Geneva; it aims at liberalizing international trade and regulating political trade relations for member states.
The WTO is the only organization competent with international laws relating to trade between countries. The organization includes 164 member states, after Afghanistan joined on July 29, 2016, in addition to 24 countries as observers.
It is worth mentioning that the Petersburg International Economic Forum, which this year celebrates its 25th jubilee, will be held in Saint Petersburg from June 15 to 18.
The Russian international news agency “Rossiya Segodnya” participates in the forum as a media partner.
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