YUZHNO-SAKHALINSK, July 16 (Itar-Tass) - Russian Minister of Economic Development Alexei Ulyukayev sees no grounds for recession before the end of the year. “There will be no recession,” he told reporters.

“Moreover, I think that the growth in the second half of the year will exceed the relevant indicator of the first one,” the minister said.

As of the end of June, the Russian Gross Domestic Product (GDP) increased by 1.8 percent in January-May 2013, as compared to 4.5 percent in the same period of the preceding year. “The major cause of such a decline in the economic growth is in the dynamics of investments - the investment activity dropped sharply,” former economic development minister Andrei Belousov said earlier.