President
Vladimir Putin has insisted Russia's under-fire currency, the rouble, will
stabilise, but warned the economic crisis could last two years. He is
currently holding his annual end-of-year news conference. Mr
Putin blamed "outside factors" for the falling rouble but admitted
the central bank could have acted sooner. Continue...
He also
accepted Russia had failed to diversify its economy, which has been hit by
falling oil prices and sanctions over the Ukraine crisis.
Mr Putin insisted the
nation's currency reserves were sufficient to keep the economy stable, saying
the central bank should not "burn" its $419bn reserves.
"I don't believe
you can call it a crisis - you can call it what you like," he told a
packed conference hall.
If the economic
problems persist, he said, the government will have to "reduce social
spending and future growth".
But he added:
"Our economy will get out of this crisis. How long? Maybe two years, but
after that, growth is inevitable."
Sanctions
The BBC's Steven
Rosenberg in Moscow says Russians will be paying close attention to what their
president has to say about the economy.
Although the rouble
strengthened on Thursday morning, it has taken a battering in recent days and
Russia remains on the verge of recession, our correspondent adds.
The currency hit an
all-time low on Tuesday, prompting Russia's central bank to reassure banks and
financial companies that it would provide additional capital if necessary.
The rouble's collapse
came after a drastic 6.5 percentage point rise in Russian interest rates to
17%.
Earlier this week,
there were reports of Russians flocking to the shops to spend their cash before
prices shoot back up. Many were said to be buying cars and home appliances.
Ukraine
talks
Russia has been hit by
Western sanctions, put in place after President Putin annexed Crimea from
Ukraine in March.
On Ukraine, President
Putin said he was hopeful the conflict could be solved through peace talks.
He urged the Ukrainian
government and pro-Russian rebels in the east of the country to conduct a quick
"all for all" prisoner swap before Christmas.
Ukraine and the West
accuse Mr Putin of sending Russian troops to fight with the rebels, but the
Kremlin denies the allegations.
US President Barack
Obama is expected to sign legislation this week authorising new economic
sanctions on Russia.
Later on Thursday,
European leaders are also expected to approve further sanctions against Russia,
with a ban on investment in Crimea and oil and gas exploration in the Black Sea
likely targets.
No comments:
Post a Comment