July 5 (Reuters) - President Vladimir Putin said late on Tuesday that the Russian economy was performing better than expected after Prime Minister Mikhail Mishustin reported to him that gross domestic product growth and inflation have been surprisingly positive. GDP growth may exceed 2% this year and consumer price inflation may not rise above 5% in annual terms, Mishustin told Putin at a meeting at the Kremlin. The International Monetary Fund expects the Russian economy to grow 0.7% this year. "Our results, at least for the time being, let's say, cautiously, are better than previously expected, better than predicted," Putin said, according to a transcript on the Kremlin's website. On Tuesday, Mishustin told Putin that he had confidence that if there was no force majeure circumstances, the economy would perform well this year.

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Persons: Vladimir Putin, Mikhail Mishustin, Mishustin, Putin, Kyiv's, Russia's technocrats, Vladimir Vladimirovich, Anton Siluanov, Lidia Kelly, David Gregorio, Michael Perry Organizations: Kremlin, Monetary Fund, Reuters, Moscow, Monetary, Thomson Locations: Ukraine, Russia, Melbourne