NOVO-OGARYOVO, April 11. /TASS/. External risk factors for the national economy remain in place, President Vladimir Putin said on Tuesday.

"External risk factors for our economy are here to stay. It will not be proper to lower our guard, give a free rein to the situation, believing that everything will be good in and of itself," the Russian leader said.

"Efficiency of supporting branches and sectors of industry, small and medium enterprises should be monitored on an ongoing basis; bottlenecks should be timely identified and arising difficulties for the business should be promptly resolved, with a helping hand to be offered to plants and labor teams," Putin noted.