Russian GDP could grow 0-1.3% in 2010: official

ST. PETERSBURG, Russia, June 6 -- Russia's economic growth could be 0-1.3 percent in 2010, Deputy Economic Development Minister Andrei Klepach said on Saturday.

"Growth in 2010 could be 0-1 percent, but it could reach 1.3 percent," Klepach said at the St. Petersburg Economic Forum, the country's top business forum.

"This will depend on the restructuring of the economy and on how private businesses increase investment," he was quoted as saying by the Interfax news agency.

"We are unlikely to see 4-5 percent growth within the next decade. We are facing stagnation or slow growth," he said.

Russia's economy, heavily dependent on exports of energy and raw materials, was hit hard by the global financial crisis. Russia's GDP contracted by 9.8 percent year-on-year in the first four months of this year.

The International Monetary Fund (IMF) had previously predicted that the Russian economy would contract 6 percent this year and expand 0.5 percent in 2010.