WASHINGTON, March 24 (Reuters) - Countries remain far from a deal in long-running world trade talks that world leaders have urged negotiators to complete this year, U.S. trade officials said on Thursday.
"We share with other members a significant concern that the Doha negotiations have not made the progress we had all hoped they would achieve by now," Michael Punke, the U.S. ambassador to the World Trade Organization, said in a statement.
"The fact is that the gaps among members remain wide. The United States is fully committed to working hard in coming weeks to find productive ways forward," Punke said after a meeting of 11 key WTO member countries. (Reporting by Doug Palmer; editing by Christopher Wilson)