Putin asks govt to draft macroeconomic development plans to reflect increased sanctions pressure

MOSCOW. Oct 6 (Interfax) - Russian President Vladimir Putin has asked the government to draft effective macroeconomic recovery plans due to an anticipated increase in sanctions pressure on Russia.

"I would like to draw the attention of the government and the Bank of Russia: it is necessary to ensure the sustainable recovery of macroeconomic dynamics. On the whole, the situation here is stable, but colleagues, we have nevertheless gathered to talk about all this. And it is important to understand that sanctions pressure on Russia will only increase. In this regard, it is necessary to have flexible, effective plans of action for both the short and medium term, and to implement them consistently," he said at a meeting on economic issues.

Sectors of the economy that are oriented towards exports, primarily to Europe, remain under pressure, and building new supply chains takes time,  Vladimir Putin said.

"Today, as agreed, we will discuss the current situation in the Russian economy and key trends. And before we move on to the agenda, I will highlight some macroeconomic indicators.  After four months of decline, industrial production has returned to last year's level [according to Rosstat, industrial production in August decreased by 0.1% year-on-year]. Industries which were in the most difficult situation - such as the automotive industry and metallurgy - are gradually recovering," the president said.

"Agriculture is demonstrating strong trends - an increase of 4.6% here in January-August. Construction is also posting growth. The volume of construction work increased by 7.4% year-on-year in August. Such faster-than-expected trends for the construction sector should also buoy other related sectors and give them additional incentives," he said.

"At the same time, I would like to note that there are still sectors of the economy under pressure, especially export-oriented to European countries, which understandably, everyone knows, the countries that have refused from Russian supplies and are now forced to overpay for a number of goods, including oil, gas, metals and so on. In turn, our exporters are switching to other markets. But this process, of course, is not quick, it takes time to build new cooperative and logistical chains," Putin said.