Russian GDP likely to grow 2 pct in 2017: minister

The Russian economy will probably expand 2 percent in 2017, a stronger performance than last month's 0.6-percent prediction, the country's Economic Development Minister Maksim Oreshkin said Monday.

"Currently, we expect a growth of about 2 percent," Oreshkin was quoted as saying by RIA Novosti news agency on the sidelines of the Russian Investment Forum.

Oreshkin believes the Russian economy has moved out of recession.

Russian Prime Minister Dmitry Medvedev shared the optimism, saying on Monday that "the economy has entered the phase of growth."

The macroeconomic situation in the country is stable, said Medvedev, citing eased inflation and unemployment.

The Russian economy began to contract in 2014 mainly due to weak oil prices and Western sanctions over Russia's alleged involvement in the Ukrainian crisis.

According to the latest data from the Federal Statistics Service, Russia's GDP decreased by 0.2 percent in 2016, improving from a drop of 2.8 percent in 2015.

"Last year's results were better than we expected," said Russian President Vladimir Putin earlier this month at a government meeting on economic issues.

"Generally, we see a positive trend in the economy," he added.

Earlier this month, Moody's maintained the junk rating for Russia's government bond but upgraded the outlook from negative to stable.

Russia has taken measures to reduce its dependence on oil and gas revenues and the national economy has been recovering after a nearly two-year-long recession, the rating firm explained.

On the back of strong economic performance, Russia's ruble has appreciated substantially against the U.S. dollar in recent weeks. Endit