BISHKEK, December 9. /TASS/. Despite a downturn in the Russian economy, the situation is still better than in many other countries, President Vladimir Putin assured reporters on Friday.

"As far as good results [in the Russian economy] go, they could have been better and we would like them to be better. True, Russia was anticipated to have an economic decline of 20%, but the downturn is currently 2.9%. Certainly, that’s a big difference there and we understand that those forecasting such developments for us made a huge mistake," Putin noted.

Despite a certain drop in the economy, "the situation is indeed better than in many other countries on a number of fronts," the Russian leader pointed out.

Putin also highlighted the measures undertaken to stabilize the economy both in Russia and in the EAEU as a whole. "One of the main indicators is the unemployment rate, and that is lower than in many other countries," he emphasized.