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Putin instructs 1st Dep PM Shuvalov and Presidential Aide Nabiullina to make proposals over current economic policy in Russia by May 15

"Thanks God, the situation in our country is not like that in the countries of the euro zone and several other countries in the world,” Russian president noted
Photo ITAR-TASS
Photo ITAR-TASS

SOCHI, April 23 (Itar-Tass) – Russian President Vladimir Putin instructed First Deputy Prime Minister Igor Shuvalov and Presidential Aide Elvira Nabiullina to generalize and make proposals by May 15 over the Russian economic development that were discussed at a big economic meeting chaired by the president here on Monday.

“I expect from you the results of this discussion, bring together in one document the proposals, which would meet the needs of our economy as much as possible in view of securing its growth rate and which would minimize those contradictions, which exist now in the government and the expert community, so that we will specify what is subject to changes and reach the pace, which we are speaking about all the time,” Putin told Shuvalov and Nabiullina at a meeting late in the evening on Monday. “I believe that it is possible to do it by May 15,” Putin added. “We will do it,” Shuvalov pledged to Putin.

“If there are some disagreements, but they will certainly remain, I ask you to work it out at the level of the leadership of the government, and then we will meet in a more narrow format and will put an end to these debates in order to really make practical changes in our current economic policy,” the president said. “I am just confident that we have all the instruments, which can and should influence mainly the real situation, primarily these economic growth rates, which we are speaking about, will ensure the definite fulfilment of all strategic plans in economic and social spheres and will ensure the growth in the incomes of people and the fulfilment of those tasks, which we set in the decrees issued on May 7, 2012, and the following decisions of the Russian government,” Putin stated.

Putin named the meeting on Monday as “a very useful meeting.” “Everybody came to conclusion that, thanks God, the situation in our country is not like that in the countries of the euro zone and several other countries in the world,” he recalled. “Our situation is stable and in general is developing according to the plan,” Putin noted. In his words, there are some problems related with a slower growth rate. “But, meanwhile, the reserves that we have and the macroeconomic figures that we attained in the last few years, give us an opportunity without any haste, in the calm mode and according to the plan ponder over what and how would be able to change in our current economic policy,” he remarked.

The president emphasized that the participants in the meeting discuss how to retain the macroeconomic figures, the achievements in the monetary policy of the government and the Central Bank of Russia, as well as the capabilities to use some reserves to settle the issues of infrastructure development. Meanwhile, other measures for the restoration of the growth rate and containment of the tariffs of the natural monopolies were offered as well. “As it usually happens in such cases, the position of the Finance Ministry and several representatives of the expert community, on the one hand, and, on the other hand, the position of officials from the Ministry of Economic Development and some experts, did not coincide in all aspects, to put it mildly,” the president said in conclusion. In this respect, Putin instructed to generalize the proposals, minimize the contradictions and issue a common document upon the results of the meeting.

On May 7, the president also intends to hold a special meeting over the fulfilment of the presidential decrees, which he signed on May 7, 2012. “The fulfilment of the decrees is a separate concrete issue. There is a concrete list of tasks and a concrete list of their fulfilment should be made,” Russian president’s press secretary Dmitry Peskov said.

In the first hours of his term in the Kremlin as the fourth Russian President, Vladimir Putin signed 11 voluminous strategic decrees a year ago. The decrees set the guidelines of Russian development and the activities of the authorities. These documents are mainly the practical realization of Putin’s conceptual election program’s articles and reflect new dynamics in the governance of the country.

The main addressee of the decrees is the Russian government, which Putin’s predecessor at the presidential post Dmitry Medvedev headed.