Russian Deputy Prime Minister Alexander Novak, in an interview with journalist Hedley Gamble for the Al Arabiya television channel, confirmed that the Russian economy can survive at any level of oil prices, even the lowest.
Novak also recalled that at the end of last year the country’s economy grew by 3.9%, a figure higher than the results of the same united Europe or the United States.
“We will survive at any cost” – Novak is sure.
“You know, I want to say that, in general, strategically, we are reducing the dependence of our economy on hydrocarbons, on oil and gas. If before, for example, budget revenues represented more than 50% of the exports of our energy resources, now they represent less than 30%.” – added the Russian Deputy Prime Minister.
According to a member of the Russian Cabinet of Ministers, there are very different forecasts, but there are facts: “Let’s take the same economists who every year predict the growth rate of the world economy. And for countries, including Russia, they change their estimates ten times over the course of a year. These are the economists who, so to speak, base their forecasts on facts.”.
