PARIS, June 24 (Reuters) - The European Union's trade chief rejects Russian accusations that Brussels is to blame for Moscow's failed unilateral bid to join the World Trade Organisation, her spokesman said on Wednesday.
Lutz Guellner, spokesman for EU Trade Commissioner Catherine Ashton, was responding to comments by Russian First Deputy Prime Minister Igor Shuvalov on Tuesday that the EU and the United States were to blame for Moscow's decision to ditch unilateral talks for a joint bid with Kazakhstan and Belarus.
"No, we reject this claim. We have been facilitating this process. We have been helpful and very supportive of Russia's bid," Guellner said.
Russia, the biggest economy outside the 153-member global trade watchdog, is now negotiating entry with its former Soviet neighbours as part of a proposed new customs union.
The move, announced by Prime Minister Vladimir Putin, came just days after Russian officials had held talks with U.S. and EU trade representatives.
Ashton and United States Trade Representative Ron Kirk will hold bilateral talks with Russian Economy Minister Elvira Nabiullina on the sidelines of an OECD meeting on Thursday in Paris. (Reporting by Darren Ennis; Editing by Dale Hudson)