MOSCOW, Oct. 21 (Xinhua) -- President Dmitry Medvedev said on Wednesday he was confident that Russia would join the World Trade Organization (WTO) despite delays caused by the formation of a customs union with its two neighbors, Russian news agencies reported.

    Russia, Belarus and Kazakhstan agreed in early June to establish a customs bloc and seek joint accession to the WTO, which was opposed by the European Union and the United States.

    The Customs Code will be handed over to the heads of state for approval in November and unified customs regulations are due to take effect on Jan. 1, 2010.

    "We will join the WTO despite certain delays caused by the establishment of the Customs Union. There can be no doubt about this," Medvedev said while meeting with Russia's business leaders.

    There was only one negotiation group for the union, consisting of representatives from all three countries, Russian First Deputy Prime Minister Igor Shuvalov said on Wednesday.

    The negotiation group, led by Russia's chief WTO negotiator Maxim Medvedkov, was acting on behalf of the customs union and each of the three countries, Shuvalov added.

    Russia, which has been seeking WTO membership for 16 years, is by far the largest economy still outside the global trade watchdog.