Russia wins boost to WTO bid

MOSCOW, Russia -- The European Union has agreed to recognize Russia as a market economy -- a key step on the road to entry into the World Trade Organization.

The concession was secured by President Vladimir Putin on Wednesday during an EU trade summit in Moscow.

Putin failed to win a similar pledge from the United States during their meeting last week to sign a nuclear-arms reduction treaty.

The gathering, in Moscow, on Wednesday, comes a day after NATO admitted Russia as a limited partner in the Western alliance.

RESOURCES NATO expands Russia's role  • WTO: Members and Observers

Since China's accession or admission to the WTO, Russia is the largest world economy still outside the organization. The EU is Russia's largest trading partner.

Almost 35 percent of Russian exports go to the EU, and that figure is expected to climb to 50 percent over the coming years.

Russian Foreign Ministry spokesman Alexander Yakovenko said the EU trade summit in Moscow is critical "given the actively developing new relations between Russia and the United States and the qualitatively new level of relations with NATO."

He added: "We wouldn't want our relations with the EU to lag behind these processes."