Russian official warns country's economy in crisis

Russia's deputy economy minister warned on Monday that the country's economy is in crisis.

Speaking at a local business conference, Deputy Economy Minister Sergei Belyakov said there are "clear signs" of the Russian economy being in crisis.

Analysts say that the economy is set to suffer from the continued weakness of the rouble and the fall-out from President Vladimir Putin's stand-off with the West over Ukraine.

The central bank, which revised its gross domestic product growth forecast down in February, estimates that the economy will expand by 1.5-1.8 percent this year.