IMF SEES NO 'BOUNCE BACK' IN RUSSIAN ECONOMY, WARNS OF FURTHER DAMAGE IF SANCTIONS EXPANDED

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - Russia's economy will not recover anytime soon from sweeping sanctions imposed by Western nations over its war in Ukraine, and could see further damage if those sanctions are expanded to hit energy exports, the new chief economist of the International Monetary Fund said Tuesday.

Pierre-Olivier Gourinchas, who joined the fund in January, said U.S. and Western sanctions and export bans had put the Russian economy on a "very different trajectory," making the kind of rebound often seen after economic shocks unlikely.

"As long as these sanctions are in place - and they could be in place for a quite a long time - then the Russian economy is going to be on a very different growth trajectory," Gourinchas told Reuters in an interview.

"We're viewing this as ... something that is really hurting the Russian economy going forward and could