MOSCOW (Sputnik) — Russia's economy requires structural reforms in order to begin to expand and grow, Herman Gref, the chief executive of Russia's top lender Sberbank, said.
"Basically the key problem now is the dire need of structural reforms. Because even if the oil price increases and sanctions are lifted, if reforms are not implemented there will never be high growth," Gref was quoted as saying by the Financial Times news outlet.
Russia experienced an economic downturn in 2014 following the global slump in oil prices and the impositions of economic sanctions by many Western countries on Moscow on the pretext of its alleged involvement in the Ukrainian crisis. The ruble has lost about half its value against the dollar since then.
