Brussels, 25/06/2009 (Agence Europe) - Through her spokesman Lutz Güllner, European Trade Commissioner Catherine Ashton refused to accept the blame put on the EU and the USQ on Tuesday by Russian Deputy Prime Minister Igor Shuvalov for the failure, at this point, of Russia's bid to join the World Trade Organisation (WTO). “No, we reject this claim. We have been facilitating this process. We have been helpful and very supportive of Russia's bid,” Güllner said on Wednesday 24 June, on the sidelines of the OECD ministerial meeting in Paris, where bilateral meetings are planned between Ashton, and also her US counterpart Ron Kirk, and Russian Economy Minister Elvira Nabiullina for Thursday. Somewhat discouraged by the long process that has lasted since 1993, Russia now wants to join the WTO not as an individual country, but as part of a customs union with Belarus and Kazakhstan (see EUROPE 9918). “We were surprised by Russia's new approach. We still need to better understand what this means for Russia's WTO accession process and what exactly Russia's intentions are,” Güllner went on. “Let's be clear, this is a Russia-created crisis and one they have to resolve,” stated Kirk, not hiding his surprise following the “constructive discussions” he and Ashton had had with Nabiullina in St-Petersburg at the end of May (see EUROPE 9918). (E.H./transl.rt)