Russian finance minister expects economy to warm up after cold spell

ST. PETERSBURG. June 19 (Interfax) - The Russian economy is currently going through a "cold spell," but this will be followed by warmer weather, Finance Minister Anton Siluanov said.

"We now have a cold spell, I would say, but a cold spell is always followed by summer," Siluanov said at the macro session at the St. Petersburg International Economic Forum when asked about the cooling of the Russian economy.

"In other words, this is an emergence from overheating," Central Bank chief Elvira Nabiullina remarked.

"By the way, when we asked the question about a supply economy, as opposed to a demand economy, our demand economy grew, while the supply economy lagged. This is where the overheating and inflation came from. This is pretty simple, I think," Nabiullina said.

Asked whether it is time to change the economic model, Siluanov said: "We live in a complex world, Russia is growing by 4%, we are surrounded by restrictions and sanctions, and you are talking about changing the economic model. We now need to put the emphasis on our technological sovereignty, which we have been doing in recent years, and this is bearing fruit. Some companies are leaving, some are appearing, so our model is working."

"We really are planning cooling this year, but everything will depend on what we do. The model that has developed, the goal-setting, is absolutely correct. The model is generally viable," he also said.

Regarding the development of the supply economy, he said the time period must be taken into account here. "Developing the supply economy and cooling the economy are two completely opposite tasks. We will now get in top of inflation, cool down a little and then it will go at a different pace," he said.