Russia has begun preparations for the next global crisis. President Vladimir Putin declared the coronavirus outbreak an emergency of international concern and emphasized its negative impact on both the global economy and the Russian economy. He noted that China's business activity index had declined below the minimum level of the 2008 global crisis. Global stock indices plummeted by more than 10 percent. According to the Russian president, the past week has become the worst for global markets since the crisis of 2008. The epidemic has already affected the Russian economy, and this is just the beginning. Russia is the world's largest oil exporter, but oil prices have suffered their biggest annual percentage declines over the past month. The demand for oil is weakening, thereby dragging the prices down. For now, the situation is not so critical. However, it will hardly change for the better. Much will depend on the OPEC+ meeting in Vienna scheduled for March. If the Petroleum Exporting Countries are able to agree and extend the agreement to reduce oil production, the situation on the oil markets is likely to stabilize. “This mechanism has proved to be an effective instrument to ensure long-term stability on global energy markets,” Putin noted.
