Putin: Anti-crisis budget support in Russia at 4.5% of GDP

MOSCOW, Nov 23 (PRIME) -- The volume of anti-crisis support from the budget during the pandemic amounted to 4.5% of gross domestic product (GDP) in Russia, which helped to soften the situation in the economy and go through a difficult period without irreversible losses, President Vladimir Putin said at G20 summit on November 21 held in a video format.

“The total volume of anti-crisis budget support amounted to 4.5% of GDP. The timely adoption of these targeted measures helped Russia, like most developed countries, to soften the economic decline, strengthen the healthcare system, go through a difficult period without irreversible losses,” Putin said.

Putin also called on G20 leaders to abandon protectionist policies and unilateral sanctions.

“We must aim to curb protectionism, the practice of imposing sanctions unilaterally and to mend supply chains,” he said.

Putin also said that devaluation of national currencies during the global COVID-19 pandemic is a major risk, especially for low-income countries, whose fiscal revenues are falling.

“Their fiscal revenues have decreased significantly, and the need to allocate significant funds to fight the pandemic is growing almost every day. A major risk is posed by the devaluation of national currencies and, accordingly, an increase in the cost of servicing public debt - primarily for low-income countries, where two-thirds of loans are in dollars,” Putin said.

Speaking of the vaccine against coronavirus, Putin said that it should be accessible for everyone and Russia supports the G20 project on this issue and is ready to provide vaccines to all the countries in need.

He added that competition among pharmaceutical companies is inevitable, but there will be enough work for everyone, as the scale of the pandemic obliges countries to use their potential to provide COVID-19 vaccines to the global population.

Separately, Putin said that there is currently no alternative to the World Trade Organization (WTO), but the organization requires modernization.

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