油價下跌令俄羅斯經濟雪上加霜

Russia to Lose Billions Over Sanctions, Falling Oil Prices

Russia's finance minister says Russia is on a course to lose more than $100 billion due to Western sanctions and falling oil prices.

Anton Siluanov said Monday at an economic forum in Moscow that Russia could lose as much as $40 billion per year because of Western sanctions.

The United States and the European Union have imposed several rounds of sanctions against Russia for its role in the conflict in Ukraine. Russia denies involvement in hostilities in eastern Ukraine where pro-Russian forces are frequently involved in skirmishes against Ukrainian government troops, despite a cease-fire agreement.

Siluanov also said Russia could lose up to $100 billion annually because of oil prices that have fallen by 30 percent.

The Ria Novosti news agency says the Russian ruble has fallen about 23 percent against the U.S. dollar in the past three months as a result of the falling oil prices.俄羅斯財政部長西盧阿諾夫說，由於西方制裁和油價下跌，俄羅斯預計會損失1千多億美元。

西盧阿諾夫星期一在莫斯科的一個經濟會議上，西方制裁可能導致俄羅斯每年損失400億美元。

美國和歐盟因爲俄羅斯在烏克蘭衝突中的作用而多次對其進行制裁。俄羅斯否認參與東烏克蘭的敵對行動。雖有停火協議，但東烏克蘭的親俄武裝經常與烏克蘭政府軍交火。

西盧阿諾夫還說，石油價格已下跌30%，俄羅斯經濟每年會因此而可能損失1千億美元。

俄羅斯通訊社說，由於油價下跌，俄羅斯盧布與美元的兌換率過去三個月降低了大約23%。