MOSCOW (Sputnik) — The economic crisis in Russia is over and the government now must initiate structural reforms to restore economic growth, Russian Deputy Finance Minister Maksim Oreshkin said Wednesday.
"The crisis itself has ended, but we are in a new reality, and the new reality means a need for further structural changes," Oreshkin said, speaking at the RussiaTALK investment forum.
According to the politician, the economy is stable but a question of how to "move forward, to strengthen the tendencies of growth in the Russian economy" remains.
Russia’s economic performance experienced a slowdown since mid-2014, due to a fall in global oil prices, a depreciation of the national currency and several rounds of anti-Russia sanctions imposed by the West over Moscow’s alleged involvement in Ukraine’s internal conflict. The latter accusation is denied by Moscow.
In January, the Russian government unveiled an anti-crisis plan to stabilize and improve the country's economy by 2017.
In late September, Russian President Vladimir Putin said that the country’s budget deficit would not exceed 3 percent of GDP in 2016.
