Russia must overcome outside pressure by strengthening economic sovereignty — Putin

ANOSINO /Moscow region/, January 29. /TASS/. Russian President Vladimir Putin said on Thursday that Russia’s strategic objectives remain unchanged. He said that Russia "must overcome the pressure of external factors by means of strengthening its economic and financial sovereignty."

"Our strategic objectives certainly remain unchanged. We must ensure high economy growth rates, efficiency and an increase in labour productivity," the president said.

According to Putin, overcoming the external factors’ pressure by strengthening the national financial sovereignty "is an extremely important task of which we have kind of forgotten, believing that finances and the economy will always stay outside politics, as we’ve often heard from the outside." "However we’ve found out that this is quite the contrary - because this is used as a very powerful political pressure tool," Putin said.

According to him, "The Russian economy certainly should and will remain an inseparable, natural part of the world economy." "But we must, without doubt, change much in its certain key aspects, ensuring sovereignty," the Russian leader said.

"I mean, certainly, not isolation, but that our economy should acquire additional stability against external shocks as a result of its diversification, the growth of non-energy, high-technology sector, agriculture and the national financial and banking sector," the president said.

The president noted that Russia has expected the current crisis developments in the country’s economy.

"The current period is not easy, but nothing unexpected has happened. The crisis developments were expected," the Russian president told a seminar for regional leaders.

Putin reminded that Russia's government has approved an anti-crisis plan to ensure the sustainable development of the country’s economy and social stability.

The president said the plan’s implementation will require funds that are to be allocated for the recapitalization of banks, which are called the "blood circulatory system of the economy."

The plan also envisages the support of the agricultural and industrial complex and the stabilization of the labor market, he said.

Finance Minister Anton Siluanov said on Tuesday the Russian government’s anti-crisis fund equals 170 billion rubles ($2.5 billion). The anti-crisis plan is intended for one year and stipulates the preparation of new structural reforms to avoid wasting reserves in just a year or two, he said.