(Bloomberg) -- Russia’s credit rating was raised to investment grade by Moody’s Investors Service, which cited “positive impact of policies” enacted in recent years to strengthen the nation’s public finance and external metrics.

Russia’s issuer and unsecured senior debt ratings were lifted to Baa3 from Ba1, Moody’s said in a statement. The outlook on its issuer rating has been changed to stable from positive.

“The underlying vulnerability to further external shocks, whether reflecting Russia’s ongoing, albeit reduced, exposure to the oil price or still-high geopolitical tensions, slowed a return to investment grade,” Moody’s said. “The stable outlook reflects evenly balanced upside and downside credit risks.”

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