Brussels, 23/03/2007 (Agence Europe) - On Friday, the Commission refuted allegations made at the beginning of the week in the Russian press, that faced with the difficulties it had encountered in resolving the “old problems” in bilateral trade and the lack of haste demonstrated by Moscow in seeking to resolve them, the Union might block Russia from joining the WTO. Referring to US diplomatic sources involved in negotiations and quoted by the Russian newspaper, Kommersant, the press agency Ria Novosti, evoked American doubts about “Russia's capacity to reach an agreement with the EU27 before the end of the year on conditions for it joining the WTO” and mentioned “the existence of substantial problems” that would prevent Moscow satisfying the Union's demands. In an interview with EUROPE, however, the spokesperson for the commissioner for trade, Peter Mandelson, provided assurances that: “We fully support Russia's integration process into the WTO”. Peter Power downplayed the ideas expressed by Mr Mandelson on Thursday in London and reported by the Prime-tass press agency, in which the commissioner for trade warned that the question of banning Polish meat imports in Russia “is damaging Russia's prospects for joining the WTO”. Power explained that this issue would be resolved and that the old problems on tariffs were the real points of friction. The spokesperson referred to the problem of differentiated export tariffs on Russian wood exported to the Community market, as well as discriminatory tariffs Moscow had imposed on rail freight from Union member states, especially Baltic countries, to Russia. Mr Power also indicated that Mr Mandelson would be in Moscow from Sunday until next Tuesday in an attempt to resolve these points of friction with the Russian minister for economic development and trade, German Gref. (eh)