(Xinhua)
Updated: 2008-02-06 09:52

GENEVA - The World Trade Organization (WTO) approved the accession terms of Ukraine on Tuesday, paving the way for the country's full membership.

The accession agreement was signed at a meeting of the WTO's General Council in Geneva by the global trade body's director-general, Pascal Lamy, and Ukrainian President Viktor Yushchenko.

Ukraine's legislative body is set to ratify the agreement by July 4, and the country will become a full-fledged WTO member 30 days after the ratification.

"Ukraine's WTO membership will strengthen the multilateral trading system and provide this country with a stable and predictable trade environment that will boost its growth and prosperity," Lamy told the General Council meeting, which is usually attended by all WTO members.

Yushchenko said that his country's membership to the WTO "is truly an historic moment and is a decisive milestone in the development of our economy."

"We are convinced that our efforts will yield results and allow us to build closer economic ties worldwide," he told the meeting.

Ukraine applied for WTO membership in 1993, and the accession negotiations were formally concluded on Jan. 25.

At the meeting, Yushchenko also made clear that his country would not block Russia's WTO accession bid, although there are some bilateral trade issues that need to be resolved between the two countries.

"We completely support Russia's WTO accession bid. Ukraine will do all it can to facilitate Russia's early admission," he said.

"I am sure we would benefit from Russia joining the WTO," he later told journalists.

Russia is the world's only major economy still outside the WTO. Like Ukraine, Russia also made the application for WTO membership in 1993.