June 4, Minsk /BELTA correspondent/. The European Union should take into account the decision of Kazakhstan and Belarus to extend the terms of Russia's accession to the WTO to themselves when deciding on the accession of these states to the World Trade Organization. This was stated by Russian President Vladimir Putin at a press conference following the Russia-EU summit, according to RIA Novosti. "As for the Customs Union and the Single Economic Space and our further convergence processes with the European Union, we do not see any contradictions here, I said this today. First of all, because we formulate the rules for the creation of the Customs Union and the Single Economic Space entirely on the principles of the World Trade Organization. Moreover, our partners - both Kazakhstan and Belarus - have made an unprecedented decision and agreed that the rules and conditions for Russia's accession to the WTO will be adopted by these states as well," Vladimir Putin stated. According to him, the European Union should take this factor into account. "They have gone for it, and I believe this is a courageous and bold step on the part of the political leadership of both states. And I believe that the European Union will also have to take this into account and provide all possible support for the accession of these countries to the World Trade Organization," the Russian president noted. -0-

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