GENEVA -- Russia's negotiations on admission to the World Trade Organization (WTO) have entered their final phase but could still take a long time, the chairman of the talks said Russia is the largest economy outside the WTO and has spent nearly 10 years negotiating terms of membership.

The talks between WTO members and a Russian team have been held up by disputes on areas such as energy and agriculture.

Norway's WTO Ambassador Kare Bryn, who currently chairs the negotiations, said a new round of talks would be held from December 16-18 to review the latest version of a draft agreement.

The talks were now in their final leg but "might take a long time," Bryn told a news conference after the latest round of meetings.

Bryn said this week's discussions had been positive, a view echoed by Russia's senior trade negotiator Maxim Medvedkov who said the talks were "back on track" after some difficult moments over the past few months.

??????? Stumbling Block ?????/ Russia has made progress in bilateral talks with a several key WTO members on tariff levels and on allowing foreign service providers like banks and insurance companies into its vast market of nearly 200 million people.

Medvedkov, deputy minister for economics and trade, said he felt many WTO countries now understood Russia's policy of dual pricing for gas and electricity -- a major stumbling block.

The policy allows domestic users, including huge export-oriented industries, to pay less for their energy supplies than what Russia charges foreign customers.

Major trade powers like the European Union and the United States argue that this effective subsidy gives Russian exporters an unfair advantage on global markets.

But Medvedkov said many WTO countries had similar systems and that the policy was in line with the WTO's basic rules.

"I think many WTO members now understand that," he said. "We are prepared for further dialogue, but that does not mean we are ready to take on any special commitments on this issue."

Agriculture is another bone of contention. Some WTO members like the United States and Australia say they want an agreement to end all farm subsidies in the Doha Round of global trade talks which began earlier this year.

But Medvedkov indicated that Russia was resisting demands to slash subsidies to its largely state-run agricultural sector.

"Some people are asking us to come in line with what they are aiming to get out of the Doha Round," he said. "But we say Russia's accession talks are not a place for experiments. We are not prepared to make any commitments on agriculture of that type until we know what is being agreed in the round."

The Doha Round aims to liberalize global markets for goods and services and is due to be completed by the end of 2004, but diplomats say that is increasingly unlikely.