Moldova is going to sign the protocol of Russia’s accession to the World Trade Organisation (WTO) on December 28. Minister of Economy and Trade, Igor Dodon, stated on Tuesday, December 26 that he personally informed the Russian side about the fact that Moldova has fulfilled all the internal procedures and he was given permission, at the Government’s sitting, to sign the protocol approving Russia’s membership in WTO and, at the same time, the Agreement regarding the principles to levy indirect taxes in bilateral trade. “We expect the Russian side to confirm its willingness to sign these agreements concomitantly”, said minister. As he states, during a Moldovan-Russian joint meeting the sides took the decision to sign these two documents till the end of 2006. The agreement regarding the principles to levy indirect taxes in bilateral trade provides for the perception of VAT when delivering gas, following the principle of the destination country and not of the source one, as it was performed until now in connection with Moldova. “The Russia’s membership in WTO would be a positive fact”, said Dodon, but mentioned that “if the acceptance of Russian Federation’s accession to WTO is signed, Moldova would like to sign the agreement on perception of indirect taxes”. At present, Moldova is the only country in the CIS space where, when exporting gas, the VAT is levied not in the budget of the importing country, but in the budget of the Russian Federation.