Updated 12:56 p.m. Moscow Time
MOSCOW, October 24 (RIA Novosti) – Russian Finance Minister Anton Siluanov has suggested developing an alternative financial budget for 2015-2017 in case of an unfavorable situation in the economy.
“We believe that we now need to prepare our budget in order to have a so-called alternative variant. If external conditions in the future are as complex as they are today, then we need to have an alternative variant where we could reject some expenditures or other obligations,” Siluanov said during a session in Russia’s lower house of parliament, the State Duma.
“The budget cannot have the same constant expenditures that were created during a different economic situation. We must always have a [different] variant if these times continue into the future,” he added.
Siluanov recalled that the finance ministry has no plans to replenish the Reserve Fund in 2015 and the funds will be allocated on partial substitution for borrowing. In case the economic situation remains unfavorable in 2015-2017, the Reserve Fund will be used to cover the top-priority expenditures.
"It is hard to predict how the situation will develop, but we need to have reserves," the minister noted.
Siluanov addressed the lawmakers asking to allow using the Reserve Fund assets in 2015.
"It [the Reserve Fund] was created exactly for this purpose and now it holds 3 trillion rubles ($71.5 billion). We would ask to allow the government to use up to 500 billion rubles ($12 billion), if the current economic situation remains unchanged," the minister stated.
Earlier in October, Russian President Vladimir Putin said that Russia has enough reserves to meet state budget expenditures regardless of global political and economic trends.
