The Kremlin on Thursday said a sharp fall in revenues from energy sales and a growing budget deficit were "routine difficulties" which could be fixed thanks to overall macroeconomic stability.
Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov was commenting on a meeting between President Vladimir Putin and top government officials on the budget this week.
Peskov said that the meeting, which, according to Prime Minister Mikhail Mishustin, took place late on Tuesday night and lasted several hours, showed that Putin was closely following economic developments.
The sustainability of the Russian economy was ensured, Peskov added, saying that a drop in oil and gas revenues was partially offset by an increase in non-energy revenues.
