Russian financial authorities pursuing sustainable macroeconomic policy - Putin

VLADIVOSTOK. Sept 5 (Interfax) - The Russian financial authorities, government and Central Bank are conducting themselves professionally, pursuing a sustainable macroeconomic policy, Russian President Vladimir Putin said.

Asked at a plenary session of the Eastern Economic Forum what opinion the ordinary Russian should be trusting, that the Russian economy is difficulty or that it is stable, Putin said: "Trust no one. You need to go by your own experience, and seek the opinions not just of those who are happy to sit on the Internet and give their own point of view, but also of experts if you want a deep understanding of the issue that interests you. If you turn to real experts for their opinion, they differ, and the questions you ask only seem straightforward."

If it's a matter of price rises, then this is inflation, which the Central Bank is fighting, trying to return it "to familiar and the right kind of levels - no more than 4%-5%." "But this is related to a high key rate, this raises issues among those engaged in real manufacturing, and many of those sitting here in the hall will probably say, yes, this is outrageous, it won't do, the key rate needs to be lowered sharply. But then prices will rise," Putin said.

"All I want to say, and I want to assure you, is that the Russian financial authorities, the government and the Central Bank are behaving professionally. We have always, and I want to emphasize this, we have always worked on the basis that the fundamental condition for the economy, and therefore the social sphere to develop, is a sustainable macroeconomic policy. We have been pursuing one for many years, for at least a decade and a half, and this has ultimately had a positive effect, a positive result, and put the conditions in place for the country to move forward. I am sure this will be the case this time too," he said.