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Putin Calls On Private Sector to Restrain Prices

Prime Minister Vladimir Putin on Monday called on private firms, from steelmakers to power generators, to help the state keep a lid on price growth to allow the post-recession economy "to breathe."

Getting inflation down to post-Soviet lows has been touted by government officials as a key achievement, one that they are keen to retain despite an expected rise in price pressures as the economy recovers from recession this year.

"We think the following decision is just and founded — to continue to contain the growth in tariffs in order to give the economy the chance to breathe, not to increase the pressure on the citizens … to contain inflation," Putin said.

"But I want to underline that the limit on tariff growth will only work if private companies also approach the issue of price growth responsibly," Putin told a meeting of ministers, and representatives of steel, coal, auto and power industries, Gazprom and the Federal Tariffs Service.

The government recently stepped in to mediate in a price dispute between metal producers and their industrial clients, such as carmakers.

"We cannot put all the pressure for containing prices and tariffs exclusively on companies with state participation. It must be a general aim," Putin said.

For the government's part, Putin promised to keep a lid on tariffs for things like power and water, which officials had been expected to raise gradually to bring them in line with the much-higher external prices.

"The economic growth is not yet stable, and market demand and consumer activity remains insufficient," Putin said.

The tariffs regulate prices that can be charged by companies like power generators, some of which are privately owned. Higher bills for energy and water were a source of public discontent at the start of the year, with such services making up about 5 percent of Russia's consumer price basket.

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