MOSCOW, Dec. 19 (UPI) -- An aide to Russian President Vladimir Putin said Friday recent banking measures should sustain the rise in the value of the Russian currency, the ruble.
In his annual meeting with the media Thursday, Putin said the Russian economy would be well on the way to recovery within the next two years.
Western sanctions imposed in response to the Kremlin's policies on Ukraine, coupled with a steady decline in crude oil prices since June, have pushed the Russian economy toward the brink of recession.
The Russian Central Bank this week raised its key interest rate by 6.5 percent to 17 percent, giving a boost to the Russian currency.
"The measures will either lead in the near future, or I think have already, led to the stabilization of the ruble," aide Andrei Belousov, a former economic development minister, said. "Most likely, all of us will see in the coming days the trend will [continue to] develop." Russia relies heavily on oil and gas revenues for economic health. With oil prices falling, Putin said Thursday many of the problems in the Russian economy were caused by "external factors."
The revaluation of the ruble this week was short-lived, however. The currency slipped about a half a percent Friday to 64.84 to the U.S. dollar.
Andrei Klepach, former deputy economic development minister, said Thursday another rate hike from the Central Bank may be "inevitable."
Jen Psaki, a spokeswoman for the U.S. State Department, said Russian economic problems were more complex than Putin expressed to reporters.
"It's more complicated and involves other issues," she said during a Thursday press briefing. "Oil prices and general economic mismanagement in Russia have played a significant role in getting them to this economic point they're at today."
