By Andrey Ostroukh
MOSCOW--Russia's government will soon present a new economic
forecast, which will be "very harsh", the Deputy Prime Minister
said Friday.
A combination of sanctions and falling oil prices is expected to
push Russia into a recession this year, and the full-year economic
contraction may reach around 4%, according to the central bank, but
so far forecasts from the government have been a bit more
optimistic.
"A new economic forecast, which will be passed to the government
by the economy ministry in two days, will be very harsh. We have no
rosy expectations and illusions," Igor Shuvalov said.
Presenting the government's economic outlook in the lower house
of parliament, Mr. Shuvalov said the number one priority is to
sustain economic stability and avoid increasing the budget
deficit.
Russia earlier this week announced a $34.6 billion spending
plan, aimed at battling the economic damage of Western sanctions
and a prolonged period of depressed oil prices.
The government said on Wednesday that the cost of its
"anticrisis" plan would reach RUB2.34 trillion, up from a previous
estimate of RUB1.4 trillion.
Write to Andrey Ostroukh at andrey.ostroukh@wsj.com