MOSCOW (Sputnik) — Earlier in the day, Standard and Poor's upgraded on Friday its outlook for Russia to positive from stable and affirmed the country’s foreign currency sovereign credit rating at "BB+/B."
"We welcome the decision of the rating agency S&P Global Ratings to upgrade the outlook on Russia's sovereign credit rating from 'stable' to 'positive'… I am confident that the results of further measures planned by the government… will facilitate the return of Russia to the list of countries with the investment rating," Siluanov told reporters.
Russia faced an economic downturn in 2014 because of the global slump in oil prices and economic sanctions imposed on Moscow by many Western countries on the pretext of Russia’s alleged involvement in the Ukrainian crisis.