28 Apr 2018 12:08

Obama's forecast of Russia's economic meltdown does not come true - Medvedev

MOSCOW. April 28 (Interfax) - Russian Prime Minister Dmitry Medvedev has invited former U.S. President Barack Obama to visit Russia and see that his forecast of Russia's economic meltdown has not come true.

"He [Barack Obama] has promised that our economy will be in shambles. Let him come and take a look at that shambles," Prime Minister Dmitry Medvedev said in an interview with the Vesti v Subbotu program aired by the television channel Rossiya 1 (VGTRK).

The program anchor reminded Medvedev about the remark Obama made on Russia in 2014 citing numbers that dated 15 years back.

Life expectancy is a key indicator of the quality of life, Medvedev responded.

"What is a summary index, a sign of the quality of life and the performance of the government and other power institutes? Life expectancy. It has grown to nearly 73 years. I'd rather not tell you what it was ten to 15 years ago; those were regretful numbers," Medvedev said.

"This indicator incorporates salaries, pensions, and everything the government is expected to provide, in addition to the medical factor," Medvedev said.

Russia has joined the club of countries with rather developed and modern medicine, Medvedev said, adding that the government would continue to improve healthcare.