The United States could agree terms with Moscow for Russia's accession to the World Trade Organisation in 2005, its chief trade negotiator said on Monday. At the end of eight hours of talks in the Swiss city of Zurich, US Trade Representative Robert Zoellick said the two sides had made good progress in removing one of the final barriers to Russia's entry into the world trade body.

"If we keep up this momentum, we should be able to reach our bilateral agreement ... on accession during the course of this year," Zoellick told journalists after meeting Russian Economy Minister German Gref.

Copyright Reuters, 2005