Russia, Putin: "GDP will grow up to 2% by the end of the year"

Russian President Vladimir Putin expects Russia's GDP to grow by 1.5 to around 2 percent by the end of the year.

This is what he said speaking at the St. Petersburg Economic Forum, Spief. Russia's GDP grew 3.3% year-on-year in April, Putin said, "in my opinion, and I agree with our experts, growth will be up to 1.5%, and maybe even below 2%.

And this will allow our country to maintain its place among the main economies of the world". The Spief, from 14 to 17 June, is the Russian response to the Davos forum and is in its third day.