Putin: 'social stability' must be No. 1 goal of crisis plan
MOSCOW. Jan 26 (Interfax) - President Vladimir Putin said "social stability" must be the main objective of the crisis plan being prepared by Russia's government.
"Because it's called an anti-crisis plan, we realize that above all it must guarantee social stability. But this objective can only be attained if acceptable economic parameters are maintained," Putin said at a government conference in Moscow on Monday.
He said he was referring to inflation and foreign debt levels, budgetary principles and amounts of emergency reserves. "That is all that we have justifiably been proud of in recent years. The name of it is macroeconomic stability. It must become the basis for economic growth as one of the conditions for private investment," Putin said.
He called for revisions of state spending in order "to increase the financing of some of the economic sectors the way this was done in 2008-2009."
"We should look at our priorities once again," he said.