Russia passed “major pieces of legislation” and amendments to laws...

Russia passed “major pieces of legislation” and amendments to laws governing the effective protection of intellectual property rights (IPR), clearing a major hurdle in its bid to join the World Trade Organization, the White House press secretary said Friday following a phone call between President Obama and Russian President Dmitry Medvedev. The laws reflect relevant WTO requirements and earlier commitments made to the U.S. on IPR, the U.S. Trade Representative said. Sept. 30 was a mutually agreed deadline for Russian and American negotiators to resolve outstanding bilateral issues, the White House said.