BELOKURIKHA, March 3. /TASS/. The Donetsk People’s Republic (DPR), the Lugansk People’s Republic (LPR), the Kherson Region and the Zaporozhye Region will be able to ensure Russia’s GDP growth by 1% at the first stage, VEB.RF Chief Economist Andrey Klepach told TASS on the sidelines of the Winter Grain Conference in Belokurikha, adding that the indicator would increase in the future.

"This is around 1% of the current GDP, further on there will be an increase as they will grow fast," he said. "There are no precise figures, but it (population of four new Russian regions - TASS) is around 5 mln people," the economist added.

Meanwhile, the prospects of new regions’ development are connected not only with sectors traditional for them, metals industry in particular, but with other areas as well, Klepach noted.

The Winter Grain Conference is held on March 1-3 in Russia’s Altai Region, one of the country’s main grain producers, with more than 160 companies from Russia and Kazakhstan participating.