Putin says Russia is curbing economic growth to control inflation, recession 'far away'

MOSCOW (Reuters) -President Vladimir Putin said on Thursday that Russia is deliberately slowing its economic growth in order to suppress inflation.

"As for the decline from more than 4% GDP growth: this is not a decline, it is a deliberate action. It is a slowdown in growth in exchange for curbing inflation and maintaining macroeconomic stability," Putin said during a televised meeting with top lawmakers.

A graph published in Russian central bank's report earlier in September showed two consecutive quarters of gross domestic product (GDP) decline in quarter-on-quarter terms, aligning with the common definition of a technical recession.

Putin downplayed concerns about a downturn, saying the Russian economy remains far away from recession.

"I think that a recession is still a long way off, and the labour market reflects this," Putin said, echoing Central Bank's Governor Elvira Nabiullina stance.

(Reporting by ReutersWriting by Maxim Rodionov; editing by Vladimir Soldatkin)