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11/02/2024 03:41:13 pm

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Russia Faces Years of Stagnation -- Kurdin

Russia

(Photo : REUTERS/SERGEI KARPUKHIN) Russia's former Finance Minister Alexei Kudrin attends the Reuters Russia Investment Summit in Moscow September 22, 2014.

Former Russian finance minister Alexei Kudrin said in a statement Monday that Russia is facing years of stagnation because of the Ukraine crisis and Russia's avoidance to create a new economic model.

Kudrin said that even if the West does not intensify its sanctions on Russia, its economy will be 1 percent less than three years ago. He also added that will face global market isolation and will further threaten its economy.

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Russian political and economic analysts, on the other hand, forecast an outcome that opposes Kudrin's predictions in which it states the outcome of Russia's involvement in Ukraine wouldl not be as grave as what Kudrin imagines.

Despite the heavy sanctions imposed by Western countries on Russia, Kudrin said it is not the only element affecting the worsening situation of the country's economy.

A huge factor in Russia's economic stagnation is the country's lack of a new economic model for pricing regulation to stimulate the economy. Kudrin said that in order for a new economic system to be created, there should be a renewal of the government.

During an interview at Reuters Russia Investment Summit, Kudrin said if Russia will continuously be banned from international markets, the already weakened state of the economy will worsen.

Additionally, he predicted that it will take some years before Russia will be able to borrow from international financial institutions.

"The minimum amount of time will be two or three years," he said.

In 2012, Russia became a member of the World trade Organization, which is another issue that the former finance minister pointed out.

According to him, Russia's relationship with the organization will change because of the country's isolation.

"As a result, Russia may stop following the rules of the WTO", Kudrin said.

Kudrin, who is an ally of Russian President Vladimir Putin, is one of the prominent figures in Russia who is scrutinizing the Kremlin's policy amid the sanctions it has received from Western countries, over its involvement in the Ukraine conflict.

He spent over a decade serving as the country's finance minister until 2011, when he resigned, due to a conflict brought by the increase in government's spending.

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