MOSCOW. April 9 (Interfax) - Ukraine may enterthe World Trade Organization (WTO) earlier than Russia, Russian chief trade negotiator Maxim Medvedkov said at the second international congress entitled "Russia and WTO: Hopes and Strategic Possibilities."

"As far as we know, our Ukrainian colleagues have made more progress at the WTO negotiations than Russia. There have been rumors in Geneva that Ukraine may become a WTO member by the end of summer," he said.

"We would welcome that, as Ukraine is our largest trade partner. The sooner it is guided by WTO trade policy, the better it will be for us," Medvedkov said.

However, if Ukraine enters the WTO before Russia, it theoretically may engage in Russia-WTO negotiations, he said. Ukrainian colleagues have repeatedly said that they won't impede the Russian accession to WTO, and Russia has made a similar pledge.

The Russian delegation expects to complete the accession process by the end of this year.