Interfax: Putin expects government to realize its potential more fully

MOSCOW. Dec 26 (Interfax) – Russian President Vladimir Putin said the government is not using its full potential.

“I find the results [of the government’s work] to be satisfactory. However, no doubt they can be even better. I believe the government, no doubt, has reserves and the potential of the government has not been fully realized yet,” Putin, who met with Cabinet members on Thursday, said.

The last session of the government in 2013 was held on December 26.

“We are meeting before the New Year holidays. It’s a time for summing up results, but we will not sum up the results today because it could give the impression that we are giving more time to summing up of the results than to our work,” Putin said.

“Even though the situation is not the best, we are making headway, and it’s obvious,” the president said.

The president reiterated that it is now obvious that “oil alone is not enough” and there is a need to think about external factors for economic development.

“We need to cut on ineffective costs, think about improving the business climate, work on infrastructure. I will say in the presence of the Central Bank chairman that we also need to think about how to reduce the rates of commercial banks on loans for the economy,” Putin said.

“We are generally managing to do it,” Putin said.