MOSCOW, May 20 (RIA Novosti) – Russian Prime Minister Dmitry Medvedev has sought to allay fears of an imminent economic crisis in the country, telling citizens they do not need to stockpile canned meat and matches, his press service said on Monday.
“I am confident we will succeed in avoiding a crisis like that of 2008-9. There is no need to stockpile canned meat, soap, matches and salt!” Medvedev said in an interview with Komsomolskaya Pravda newspaper due to be published on Tuesday, the press service said.
During a meeting with Medvedev last month, President Vladimir Putin warned that Russia could feel the impact of a new wave of the global economic crisis, and tasked government officials with developing new mechanisms to counter the risk of recession.
“This is how it was in 2008, and now we are witnessing the same thing. However, unlike our friends and partners in Europe and other parts of the world, the Russian economy is showing vitality and prospects of further growth,” Putin said.
Russia’s economy has been slow to recover from the 10-percent contraction it suffered as a result of the global economic crisis that hit in 2008. The country’s GDP grew by just 3.4 percent in 2012, due to weakened European demand for Russian exports and faltering investment.
Last month, Russia’s Economics Ministry slashed its 2013 GDP growth forecast from 3.6 percent to 2.4 percent in the wake of continuing negative trends.
