“Today's extraordinary circumstances - the spread of the coronavirus pandemic - are affecting not only people's health, but also the economic situation as a whole, and it seems that they will turn into more massive shocks than the financial crisis of 2008-2009," he said.
According to Novak, this requires an effective response.
“And our task is to protect the interests of our citizens and fulfill the instructions of the leaders of our countries contained in the statement of the group of 20 on the need for collective action to eliminate the outbreak of infection and its economic and social consequences,” he added.
March 26, Russian leader Vladimir Putin, speaking at the G20 summit, also stated that the situation with coronavirus would turn out to be more serious problems than the financial crisis of 2008-2009.
Later, the president described the effects of the spread of the virus on the economy and the decline in oil prices as a double blow.