"There will be a new chance by the end of 2007" for an accord on the WTO's Doha round of world trade talks, he told a news conference.

In Brussels, EU Trade Commission Peter Mandelson called for leading trade ministers to meet in early January to discuss how to reignite the talks, which have been stalled since July.

But Lamy said that he saw no sign yet that leading WTO member states were ready to adopt the sort of flexibility needed for a successful meeting of ministers.

"For the moment there is still a bit of work to do to get the ministers around the table," he said.

The five-year-old WTO talks over reducing global trade subsidies and barriers were halted in July after major powers locked horns over politically sensitive issues, especially calls to dismantle agricultural protection.

Discussions restarted on a limited basis last month, with the various negotiating groups in Geneva revisiting technical matters, but Lamy has said a high-level political push would still be required for a breakthrough.

He called for "precise and simultaneous" efforts from trade powers before ministerial negotiations could begin.

Several ministers, along with Mandelson and US Trade Representative Susan Schwab, are due to meet on the sidelines of the World Economic Forum starting on January 24 in the Swiss Alpine resort of Davos.

But Mandelson said that he hoped for a quicker start to the troubled negotiations.

"I hope a more focused ministerial meeting will be possible before that (Davos)," Mandelson said, conceding his recent call for a meeting before the end of this year would not be possible due to the reluctance of others to take part.

Nampa-Reuters

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