Economic minister says exit from WTO negative for Russia

MOSCOW, Sep 6 (PRIME) -- The exit from the World Trade Organization (WTO) would be only harmful to Russia as it can lose its trade channels, Economic Development Minister Maxim Oreshkin said on Thursday.

“Should Russia leave the WTO? We can only get a negative result from the exit. Russia is an EAEU member, and Kazakhstan is a WTO member. If we leave the WTO, all goods will go through Kazakhstan, and we will get nothing… we will lose normal trade channels, lose our export markets,” he said.

“If we need to revise the trade policy, we should revise it drastically including relations with our neighbors.”

Oreshkin also said that U.S. President Donald Trump’s claims about a possible exit from the WTO are “part of a big discussion.”

The Eurasian Economic Union (EAEU) comprises Russia, Belarus, Kazakhstan, Armenia and Kyrgyzstan.

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