Ukraine parliament ratifies protocol to join WTO

KIEV (Reuters) - Ukraine's parliament ratified a protocol on joining the World Trade Organisation on Thursday, clearing the final hurdle to membership after more than 14 years of negotiations.

A total of 411 members in the 450-seat assembly approved the protocol after a brief debate. The document was signed by President Viktor Yushchenko last February in Geneva after the WTO said the former Soviet state had met membership conditions.

Parliament must still approve about 10 pieces of legislation to meet WTO requirements, but officials say this will have little effect on the membership process.

"I believe we are completely ready for joining the WTO," Deputy Economy Minister Valery Pyatnitsky told the chamber before the vote. "The laws still to be approved are largely cosmetic in nature."

Membership of the WTO takes effect 30 days after ratification. Ukraine will then become the WTO's 152nd member ahead of Cape Verde. The island nation's accession was approved in December, before Ukraine's, but it has yet to ratify it.

As Ukraine enters the organisation, neighbouring Russia will remain on the outside, the last major economy to be admitted. With Dmitry Medvedev about to take over as Russian president, talks on membership have hit obstacles, particularly a dispute on timber tariffs.

Membership of the WTO will open new markets to Ukraine's export-driven economy and force more competition in its Soviet-era industry.

Yushchenko had promised WTO membership within a year of coming to power in January 2005 on a wave of pro-Western "Orange Revolution" protests against vote fraud.

But resistance in parliament and disunity within his own "orange" team forced him to slow his approach. He and other leaders still see membership of the European Union and NATO as key aims.