MOSCOW, Dec. 4 (Xinhua) -- Russian Prime Minister Vladimir Putin said Thursday that the country's economic performance in 2008 is "good" despite the global financial meltdown.

Russia's gross domestic product (GDP) growth would be 6.8-6.9 percent this year, Putin said in a televised question-and-answer session.

"In general, the results for the year are good, despite the negativeimpact of the global financial crisis on the Russian economy," he said.

The government previously had expected the GDP to grow 7.5 percent in 2008, but an overall growth rate of 6.8-6.9 percent is still good, Putin said.

The premier also forecast that Russia's inflation would be 13 percent this year.

"It's true there are problems related to inflation," Putin said.

The high inflation is partly because of the global financial crisis and the fact that the Central Bank and the Finance Ministry were forced to inject a large amount of liquidity into the economy, he said.

"We have a strong chance of living through this difficult period with minimum possible losses for the economy and citizens," he said.

However, the premier said the nation should brace itself for a difficult period.

"We must be prepared morally, organizationally, financially and even politically," he said.
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