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* Russia could join WTO by year-end - EU

* Russia foreign minister hints can bypass Georgian veto

* EU, Russia found auto agreement

* United States says some issues remain

BRUSSELS - The European Union and Moscow have agreed terms for Russia to join the World Trade Organisation, leaving a bilateral agreement between Russia and Georgia as the only outstanding issue to resolve, the EU's trade chief said on Friday. ? ?

A deal had been reached that would help to prevent EU jobs in the car industry from moving to Russia, EU Trade Commissioner Karel De Gucht said in a statement. The agreement removes the last major trade area that had been hesitant about allowing Russian WTO membership.

"We have struck a deal on the final outstanding bilateral issues, leaving the way open for Russia to join the WTO by the end of this year," De Gucht said. "This understanding will help to protect EU jobs in the car and car components industry."

Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov said in Moscow that "all issues had been solved" and hinted that Russia could enter the organisation without Georgia's consent. ?

"Sticking strictly to the WTO's documents, Georgia's position is not an obstacle. There are ways to act so that our trade obligations towards all the WTO members do not apply to Georgia," Lavrov said. ? ? ?

Though Russia has been negotiating to join the WTO for 18 years, the $1.5 trillion economy is the largest still remaining outside the league of 153 trading nations.

The case for Russian membership has been pushed by the perceived economic gains, as well as the wish to usher Russia in before elections next March, which are expected to return Prime Minister Vladimir Putin, a WTO-sceptic, to the presidency.

Still, agreement from neighbouring Georgia is required for Russia to join, and Tbilisi is demanding more trade transparency. Switzerland has been acting as a mediator in the past few months, but the EU said it was "disappointing that the talks have so far not led to a solution".

"There is now very little time left to reach a bilateral agreement between Georgia and Russia," De Gucht said. "I call on both parties to continue their efforts to find a solution in a spirit of compromise."

MUTUAL BENEFITS SEEN

US Trade Representative Ron Kirk said the United States shared "the EU's strong interest in seeing Russia and Georgia reach a mutually agreeable resolution of trade-related issues" but added that some other trade issues still had to be resolved before Russia could be invited to join. ?

"These include final agreement on Russia's automotive investment programme, Russia's commitment to join the WTO Information Technology Agreement, and certain issues related to trade in agriculture," Kirk said in a statement. ?

Russian accession could help the WTO's image, as collapsed hopes for the Doha round of trade talks that began 10 years ago have cast doubt on its credibility.

For the EU, Russian membership would make the country more transparent and open up business opportunities for EU investors and exporters. Russian import tariffs and restrictions on raw materials exports would be reduced, and Moscow would adopt international product standards and WTO rules in areas such as customs procedures, licensing and intellectual property, the EU said.

The EU is Russia's biggest trading partner, with 244 billion euros in bilateral trade in 2010 -- a 45.8 percent share of Russia's overall trade. Imports from Russia increased by 31.4 percent in 2010, and exports from the EU to Russia went up by 38.2 percent.

The car industry had been the major sticking point in negotiations. ? ? ? ? ? ? ?

Last year, Moscow launched a new industrial policy that offered carmakers operating in Russia incentives only if they produced more than 300,000 cars and 30,000 trucks per year; created a majority of a car's total value locally; and opened research and development centres in Russia. ?

That stoked fears in some EU countries that Russia would turn into an exporter competing with the rest of Europe, and that jobs would migrate eastwards.

Automakers widely expect sales of cars, vans and trucks in Russia to double to 4.1 million vehicles by 2020, from approximately 2 million today, making Russia the largest market in Europe, overtaking Germany.

GM, Fiat , Ford , Renault and Volkswagen plan to invest $5 billion in Russia to set up production, in exchange for duty breaks on imported components. They hope to benefit from low Russian labour costs and create export platforms for growing markets across Asia.

The EU said on Friday that a balance had been found between the different concerns of European car companies that had already invested in Russia, those that export to Russia, and Russia's desire to modernise its economy.

In particular, a compensation mechanism would come into effect if exports of EU car parts to Russia fell, minimising the impact on EU jobs.??

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