Russia's accession to the World Trade Organization (WTO) is in sight and could be sealed by the end of this year, WTO Director General Pascal Lamy told Reuters in an interview."There's clearly an acceleration in this Russian accession (bid) to the WTO recently. I now believe that Russian accession to the WTO is in sight. I even would say it can be done by the end of this year when we have a WTO ministerial," Lamy said.

Russia is easily the biggest country still outside the 153-member trading club, and its long-running bid to join has hit numerous obstacles, including a spat with Georgia, which -- as an existing WTO member -- can effectively veto Russia's entry, Reuters reported.