Feb. 26 (Bloomberg) -- The Russian government has sufficient oil fund reserves to “live through this year without borrowing,” said Arkady Dvorkovich, an economic adviser to President Dmitry Medvedev.

The government is in “no hurry” to sell bonds, though it plans to “monitor the market closely,” Dvorkovich said in an interview on Bloomberg Television in Moscow. “If market conditions will improve, then the government will start borrowing.”

Russia is bracing for its first recession in a decade, with the Economy Ministry predicting negative growth of 2.2 percent this year and a budget deficit of 8 percent of gross domestic product. The ruble has declined 34 percent against the dollar since August.

Dvorkovich said there are “no grounds” to expect further “abrupt” changes in the ruble exchange rate. “If commodity prices will not go down sharply,” and the government succeeds in stimulating domestic demand, “we don’t expect the exchange rate will have to be changed.”

To contact the reporter on this story: Lyubov Pronina in Moscow newsroom at lpronina@bloomberg.net; Torrey Clark in Moscow at tclark8@bloomberg.net; Ellen Pinchuk in Moscow at epinchuk@bloomberg.net

Last Updated: February 26, 2009 05:12 EST