Gov't anti-crisis measures do not correspond with depth of crisis for now - Deripaska
MOSCOW. March 19 (Interfax) - The anti-crisis measures, which were drafted by the government, do not correspond with the scale of problems on the Russian economy, Basic Element owner Oleg Deripaska said.
"Today's crisis is much more complicated and deep than the 2008-2009 crisis. We can not count on a quick recovery of the external situation, on access to the foreign financial market. It is necessary to understand that the answer should be appropriate. Today the government has for now drafted measures that are three times smaller than those that were [used] in 2009-2010," Deripaska said in an interview with Rossiya 24 television channel after a meeting of the president and businessmen in the framework of the Russian Union of Industrialists and Entrepreneurs conference.
"The president promised us that he will attentively consider and correspondingly a decision will be made based on the adequacy of the support of demand. We are not speaking about direct support of enterprises, this is not needed now. The main issue, which is troubling, is the lapse in demand due to the harsh position of the Central Bank [high key rate, which is now at 14%]," he said.
The rate, he said, is now "over the limit". "It is necessary to call upon the Central Bank to adopt a sensible policy," the businessman said.
Commenting on the announcement of Finance Minister Anton Siluanov about the fact that the peak of problems in the economy has been passed, Deripaska said the peak will be coming in August-September. "Only after having stopped the fall, is it possible to say that the bottom is behind. But the fall is continuing," he said.
Deripaska said that at a meeting with businessmen, Putin called on those who have decided to participate in the capital amnesty, to not delay with concrete steps.
"The president said these businessmen, who made the decision for themselves, [should] not dally. This was the main message. The president said the following - his clear position once and for all. That no one make claims on anyone after the amnesty and that businessmen do not need to fear. At the same time he said that so that the external political situation does not affect this, there is no need to delay," Deripaska said.
