Readout of the President's Call with Russian President Medvedev

President Obama called President Medvedev today to acknowledge the substantial progress that Russia and the United States have made in completing negotiations on a series of bilateral issues, which needed resolution before Russia joins the World Trade Organization (WTO).

During their meeting in Washington on June 24, Presidents Obama and Medvedev set September 30 as a deadline for Russian and American negotiators to resolve outstanding bilateral issues in connection with Russia's efforts to join the WTO. By passing major pieces of legislation, including major amendments to laws which govern the effective protection of intellectual property rights (IPR), the Russian government has taken and continues to take significant steps to meet bilateral commitments and to accelerating multilateral negotiations on Russia's WTO accession. President Obama pledged to support Russia's efforts to complete remaining steps in multilateral negotiations so that Russia could join the WTO as soon as possible. The President also noted the importance of continued enhancement of bilateral trade relations in areas such as enforcement of intellectual property rights and agricultural trade.

The two presidents also discussed their mutual interest seeing their respective legislative bodies approve the New START treaty before the end of the year, their continued concern for Iran's defiance of its international obligations, and their shared support for the upcoming referenda in Sudan.