MOSCOW. Oct 8 (Interfax) - Foreign investors have only withdrawn a small amount of funds from Russia as a result of the mortgage crisis in the United States, Russian Deputy Prime Minister Alexander Zhukov said.

One of the primary consequences of the crisis has been the withdrawal of funds from emerging markets and "money has stared leaving Russia," he said. However, only $7 billion has been taken out of Russia over the last two months, a very small amount, especially when compared to the Central Bank's reserves of $425 billion and the $130 billion in the Stabilization Fund, he said.

During a live interview on Russian television on Saturday, Zhukov said some $66 billion in foreign capital was injected into the economy in the first half of 2007. He also said the Russian stock exchange was the world's most profitable market last year and the year before.

The ruble will continue to strengthen, he predicted, although perhaps "not as fast as the rates seen in recent years, but nevertheless it would be advantageous to keep money in rubles."

The fact that the majority of citizens currently store their savings in rubles shows that "trust in our national currency has risen," he said.

While the Russian economy depends on oil, Zhukov said the government "has pledged to do everything to avoid a repeat of the 1990s."

"We don't have to fear a default for several reasons. Firstly, we have a budget surplus and we've set up the Stabilization Fund and the Reserve Fund, which will secure us against a default even if oil prices plunge by 50%," he said.

The government has sufficient funds to fulfill its duties, he said. "The Central Bank has enough reserves to support banks, and our reserves are calculated in such a way that, even if oil prices plummet to roughly $30 per barrel, we would be able to support all the parameters of our budget within three years," Zhukov said.