The draft highlights agriculture as the "key pending issue", and diplomats said the way the text was phrased was as a call to the European Union to show more flexibility to revive the stalled talks.

The statement will be formally issued at a weekend summit of leaders of the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation (Apec) forum, including US President George W. Bush, his Chinese and Russian counterparts Hu Jintao and Vladimir Putin and the prime ministers of Australia and Japan.

"We ... reaffirm our collective and individual commitments to concluding ambitious and equitable outcomes of the Doha Development Agenda," it said, referring to the current round of World Trade Organisation talks.

"To meet this goal, we must break the current deadlock and restart the negotiation as soon as possible to a path toward success... we are ready to break the current deadlock."

But the leaders will also urge key developed economies and their "partners in other regions" to take similar steps to break the impasse.

Diplomats said "partners in other regions" was an apparent reference to the European Union, where high subsidies to farmers are among the reasons for the current deadlock.

Meanwhile, US President George W Bush and Russian President Vladimir Putin held talks near Moscow on Wednesday ahead of the expected signing of a landmark deal on Russia's entry to the World Trade Organisation, officials said.

Officials said there was no official agenda for the talks, for which media had only limited access, but that the two were likely to discuss a deal on Russia's WTO membership bid that is to be signed when the two meet in Vietnam on Sunday at a summit of Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation (Apec) countries.

Apec, which accounts for 70 percent of global economic output and half of world trade -- hopes to give a strong push toward reviving the negotiations.

Their leaders would call for "real" market access, according to the draft, another reference to the clamour by developing nations for the European Union to further pry open its markets for their exports.

The talks stalled in July amid disputes between rich and poor nations, as well as among wealthy players, over what concessions are needed in reducing subsidies, tariffs and other barriers to commerce.

FIRST MEETING IN 3 MONTHS rTODAY
Another report from Geneva adds: The World Trade Organisation's 149 members will hold their first meeting in three months today to discuss the stalled Doha round of global trade talks, the WTO announced here.

The informal meeting is meant to "discuss the situation in the DDA (Doha Development Agreement) negotiations", it said in a statement.

A trade source told the news agency: "It's not a formal re-launching of negotiations."

"We have to turn on the engine. If and when some significant development by one or more of the major players occurs, then the machinery in Geneva is on standy and ready to go," he said.