Russian economy holding strong under external pressure – Putin

The nation has maintained economic growth and low unemployment despite Western sanctions, the president has said

The Russian economy continues to be resilient to the pressure of Western sanctions, President Vladimir Putin has said. The country is maintaining economic growth while keeping unemployment at a record lows and reining in inflation, he told the ‘Russia Calling!’ investment forum on Tuesday.

The economy is expected to grow between 0,5% and 1% this year, Putin said. This is a result of central bank's efforts to curb inflation, which is now expected to drop to 6% – well below government forecasts, according to the president, who called it an important achievement.

The banking sector is also expected to show good results this year by generating a profit of around 3.2-3.5 trillion rubles ($41-45 billion), Putin said. The unemployment rate is just 2.2%, he added.

The government and the central bank have a “consensus” on the issues of economic development, according to Putin. Russia’s national debt will remain “one of the lowest in the world,” the president stated, adding that the nation still managed to secure funding for all the “key priorities,” including social spending, defense and security as well as national development projects.

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Russia “definitely feels the external pressure. Yet, our nation and our economy successfully meet those challenges,” the president said, accusing Western nations of resorting to “anti-competitive practices” to retain their “elusive monopoly” on the global markets.

The West has imposed an unprecedented number of sanctions aimed at crippling the Russian economy since the escalation of the Ukraine conflict in February 2022. Russia has maintained that the measures have failed to destabilize its economy or isolate it from the global financial system.

On Tuesday, Putin said that most nations around the world, including India and China, kept a “rational and pragmatic” approach towards cooperation with Russia, resulting in a dramatic growth in bilateral trade in recent years.