Russian presidential aide Arkady Dvorkovich said on Friday that Russia has more than a 50 percent chance of joining the World Trade Organization (WTO) in 2011.

Russia has a much higher chance of joining the organization now than it did two or three years ago, Dvorkovich said during a banking conference in Moscow.

Russia, which is the only major economy outside the global trade body, has been seeking WTO membership for 17 years, although the accession process usually takes from five to seven years.

Russian President Dmitry Medvedev and his U.S. counterpart Barack Obama confirmed on October 1 that bilateral talks on Russia's accession to the organization are complete, which opens the way for Russia's membership.

Russian Finance Minister Alexei Kudrin then said that preparations for Russia's accession to the WTO will take from two to four months, after which the accession procedure will begin.

Obama's top economic adviser, Lawrence Summers, estimated earlier this month that Russia may join the organziation within a year.

Earlier, Russian officials projected that Russia would become a WTO member by January 1, 2011.

Medvedev has admitted that Russia still has problems with the protection of intellectual property rights, a major impediment to WTO accession, but says tackling this issue is a priority for the Russian government.

RIA Novosti