Putin says worst is over for Russian economy

MOSCOW: President Vladimir Putin said Thursday the worst was over for Russia’s crisis-hit economy as he shrugged off widespread concerns over the impact of the Ukraine crisis in his annual phone-in.
Russians from around the country sent in questions in record numbers with many focusing on current financial hardships during the four-hour show.
But Putin played down the economic troubles and sought to portray Western sanctions over Ukraine as a blessing in disguise.
“In fact, these sanctions only helped the government and the Central Bank,” a bullish Putin said.
The Kremlin strongman, who in March marked 15 years since first being elected president, fielded questions from farmers, grandmothers and children with a confident demeanour and the occasional smile.
Organizers of the phone-in said the president received some three million questions, although this year’s televised session appeared to lack the razzmatazz of Putin’s past phone-ins.
Putin painted a rosy picture, saying the ruble exchange rate would have changed irrespective of sanctions, calling it “an element of revitalising our economy.”
“The ruble has stabilized and strengthened,” said the Kremlin chief.
“Experts believe that we have passed the peak of the problems.
“Nothing burst and everything is working,” he added.
Following the shock collapse in the ruble late last year, the currency has bounced back to a five-month high as fighting in eastern Ukraine has waned and oil prices have steadied.
The ruble pushed below the psychologically important threshold of 50 rubles per dollar on Wednesday, its most robust level since November.