Russia called on APEC countries to jointly solve trade problems

APEC Leaders Meeting. Archive photoMOSCOW, May 21.Unilateral restrictions against Russia make a decisive contribution to the deterioration of food security in the world, Moscow is ready to actively participate in the search for solutions, including at the World Trade Organization (WTO), said Russian Economic Development Minister Maxim Reshetnikov during the APEC ministerial meeting. As indicated in According to the message of the Ministry of Economic Development of the Russian Federation, a meeting of APEC trade ministers was held in Bangkok on preparations for the 12th WTO Ministerial Conference (will be held in June). «Food security is indeed one of the key issues on the MK-12 agenda. But decisions on this issue require an objective assessment of the real causes of the food crisis.Unilateral restrictions against Russia, one of the world's largest suppliers of food and fertilizers, including in the areas of payments and logistics, are making a decisive contribution to the deterioration of the situation.Russia is ready to actively participate in the search for joint solutions.But this process is not maybe be one-sided,» the minister said, quoted by the press service. Reshetnikov pointed out that most APEC countries share the importance of the WTO and the need for further efforts to improve its effectiveness.The Russian delegation left the APEC meeting during the US speech»Only the words of some economies «do not fight» with actions. Their unilateral and politically motivated trade restrictions are a threat to the multilateral trading system. A large-scale wave of violations of WTO rules “under the guise of exceptions for national security reasons” is a serious blow to the organization,” the Russian minister stressed. According to Reshetnikov, joint efforts within the WTO can help improve the situation on world markets, including energy and food markets. «To do this, the members of the organization should focus on trade problems, for the solution of which the organization was created,» the press service of the Ministry of Economic Development added. It became known which countries left the APEC hall during Russia's speech