Putin: External factors behind Russian economic slump

MOSCOW, Dec. 18 (UPI) -- Measures beyond the sphere of immediate Russian economic influence are behind the devaluation of the national currency, Russia's president said Thursday.

Russian President Vladimir Putin broke his silence on the decline of the nation's economy during his annual meeting with members of the media. Though Russia's currency, the ruble, recovered to 65.10 to the U.S. dollar by Thursday, it had been in a free fall, dropping by double digits to 80.10 earlier in the week.

The Bank of Russia raised its key interest rate to 17.5 percent from 10.5 percent in an attempt to strengthen the currency. Putin said those and other similar measures are putting the economy back on track.

"Of course, the situation has been provoked by external factors," he said. "We believe a lot has not been done by us."

Russia relies heavily on oil and gas revenues for economic health. Though Ukrainian-linked sanctions targeting the nation's energy sector are starting to bite, the president said external factors like market prices for oil and gas are important to consider when assessing an economy like his.

Oil prices since June have lost nearly half of their value. Russian Prime Minister Dmitry Medvedev took the podium last week to say commodity prices had "certainly weakened the ruble."

The Kremlin said it expected economic growth to fall below 1 percent in part because of investment uncertainty and sanctions pressure.

Oil prices, meanwhile, are expected to remain low as both the West's International Energy Agency and the Organization of Petroleum Exporting Countries trimmed demand forecasts for 2015 because of weak growth in the global economy.

With the value of the Russian currency falling, officials said the budget losses for Russia next year could be as high as $1.7 billion. Putin said the Russian economy may have to diversify in the current climate, but stressed relief was in sight.

"Exit from the current economic situation in Russia is inevitable," he said. "The global economy will grow and our economy will overcome the current situation in approximately two years."