SaS Views Premier's Statements on Russian Economy as Spreading Disinformation

Bratislava, 30 July (TASR) - The opposition Freedom and Solidarity (SaS) party views statements that the Russian economy is now considered to be stronger than German, made by Premier Robert Fico (Smer-SD) at the weekend, as spreading disinformation. According to SaS, the German economy is more than twice as big as Russia's. The weakening exchange rate of the ruble and negative ratings are symbols of the instability and weakness of the Russian economy, stated the party. "It is not my goal to dishonour the Russian economy, nor to glorify the German one. Every economy has its problems, challenges, strengths, but also weaknesses. But if the Slovak premier publicly declares that the Russian economy is stronger than the German one and presents it as a fact, that's no longer just an opinion, it's truly the spreading of disinformation. And it's shameful that such disinformation is spread by someone who leads the country, someone who has access to data, who has access to analyses, analysts, to foreign reports, someone who has a responsibility to the people, and yet chooses narratives that are not really suitable even for Telegram channels," said SaS MP Marian Viskupic. When comparing the basic nominal gross domestic product (GDP), Germany has an economy more than twice as big as Russia's, stated Viskupic. Unlike Russia, Germany has positive ratings from a rating agency with a stable outlook. Conversely, Russia is practically cut off from global financial markets, he said. According to SaS, the differences can also be seen in exports. SaS pointed out that Germany exports four times more, its economy is diversified and exports in various sectors, while Russian exports are based only on exports of oil, gas and coal. ko/df