Brussels, 15/11/2010 (Agence Europe) - The head of the Russian delegation for WTO accession negotiations, Maxim Medvedkov, confirmed at the end of last week that Russia and the EU hope to conclude their annual summit in Brussels in early December with a view to a bilateral agreement at the WTO on access to the market for goods and services. An agreement of this kind, which would pave the way for Russia's accession to the WTO in 2011 (which also depends on a similar agreement with the United States, which was recently put together, and multilateral commitments on the part of Moscow: Ed), is still coming up against the issue of Russian duty on exports of wood to the EU. This unresolved issue is the “main obstacle” to the accession of the principal economy which is still missing from the organisation which governs world trade, as Trade Commissioner Karel De Gucht recently indicated. (E.H./transl.fl)