MOSCOW, July 11 (Xinhua) -- With the Group of Eight (G8) summit in St. Petersburg around the corner, officials have played up hopes of Russia signing an agreement with the United States on its accession to the World Trade Organization (WTO) before the gathering.

    Russia, the largest economy still outside the Geneva-based WTO, has been negotiating to join the world trade body since 1993. The United States remains the last hurdle to Russia's longtime WTO bid.

    Hopes are high in Russia that a WTO deal with the United States could be finalized when U.S. President George W. Bush meets his Russian counterpart, Vladimir Putin, on the eve of the G8 summit scheduled for July 15-17.

    "I don't want to comment on how the talks are going. They are going and I hope that they will finish successfully," Deputy Prime Minister Alexander Zhukov was quoted by the Interfax news agency as saying on Tuesday.

    On Monday, Economic Development and Trade Minister German Gref said: "We shall try to finish them (WTO talks) before the summit begins," pledging that the interests of businesses will be fully taken into consideration.

    Bush has expressed optimism about a deal when he meets Putin on Friday. U.S. Trade Representative Susan Schwab will travel to Moscow for talks with Russian trade officials on Wednesday and Thursday.

    One of the sticking points in the talks is financial services, particularly a U.S. demand that foreign banks be allowed to open directly owned branches in Russia.

    Putin has warned Russia will scrap WTO trade rules if it is not accepted into the global trade body. "If for some reason we are unable to reach agreement, then we'll stop being bound by the commitments that we have not only accepted but also are honoring while we are not even a member of the organization," Putin said earlier this month. Enditem