Russia's GDP up 0.6% in first 5 months

Moscow, July 5 (IANS) Russia's economy is steadily recovering from the impact of sanctions and other challenges with a GDP growth of 0.6 per cent in the first five months of this year, Prime Minister Mikhail Mishustin said.

During a meeting with President Vladimir Putin, Mishustin said the Russia's economy grew by 5.4 per cent in May from a year earlier, and is expected to grow by more than 2 per cent this year if there were no unforeseen circumstances, reports Xinhua news agency.

Putin pointed out that the IMF's forecast for Russia economic growth was 0.7 per cent this year, compared with 1.5-1.9 per cent projected by the Ministry of Economic Development.

"The official estimate is still lower, but we will update it in August and I am sure it will exceed 2 per cent based on the parameters we see," Mishustin said.