Putin: Russia Eyes Stability, Unity in 2000

Russian President Vladimir Putin said Saturday that Russia enjoyed political stability and economic growth in 2000 and is ready for "the great crossroads of time" with the whole world.

Russia "has advanced for the better, though not as fast as we would have liked," he said at a new year's reception in the Kremlin Saturday evening.

"We have chosen the correct direction and we have correctly evaluated our strengths, while the country has strengthened and has improved law and order," he said.

"We have pursued an open foreign policy. While discovering new friends, we are returning to the old," he said.

"We are not wasting energy on empty talk and chatter, but doing business," Putin said. "Russia like the rest of the world has changed rapidly in our eyes, but while changing, we continue to cherish our traditions," he stressed.

"We are entering the new millennium with a new anthem, which is not simply a symbol," he added. "We have managed to overcome the disagreements between the past and present."

At the end of his speech, Putin thanked everyone who contributed to the national treasury; who promoted economic growth and made 2000 "a year of stability and unity in Russia."

According to preliminary official statistics, Russia's gross domestic product (GDP) growth in 2000 has hit 7.6 percent, a record high for the latest 10 years, while industrial production has risen 9.2 percent against 8.1 percent in 1999.

For the whole year of 2000, the inflation rate is estimated at 20.2 percent, much lower than 36.5 percent last year, and the producer price growth -- some 32 percent against 67.3 percent in 1999.

The growth of capital investment in 2000 has reached 17.2 percent from 5.3 percent in 1999, while the population's real disposable monetary incomes bounded 9.6 percent this year.

Meanwhile, Russians have witnessed rare political stability and a favorable social situation after Putin came to power at the beginning of this year.






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