The conflict between the US and Afghanistan's ruling Taliban would do little to undermine world economic growth prospects, the head of the International Monetary Fund (IMF), Mr Horst K÷hler, said yesterday.
"We don't think this military action will have a major impact on economic developments in the global economy and also in Russia," he said after his visit, during which he met President Vladimir Putin and other officials.
"So there are certainly risks for the global economy, but on the whole we are confident we will see a full and strong recovery during the course of next year," he said, adding that the European economy was fundamentally strong.
Mr K÷hler, ending a three-day visit to Russia, said the country was on the right track and that despite a fall in oil prices, it would be able to service its foreign debts of more than $30 billion (€33 billion) in 2002 and 2003.
The global economy is slowing more than expected after the September 11th attacks on the US and subsequent volatility in oil prices, but Mr K÷hler reiterated a forecast for a US recovery in the first half of next year.
He said he had congratulated the Russian officials he had met on the country's good macroeconomic peformance over the last three years.
There had been worries over the price of oil, a key driver of the Russian economy. But Mr K÷hler said the oil price decline after the September 11th attacks and fears of a global slowdown would not hurt Russia's economic health.
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