“It’s written in the anti-crisis plan that we will conduct a careful budget policy and by 2017 we have the goal of a non-deficit budget with a forecasted price for oil at $70 per barrel,” Siluanov told journalists.
On January 14, Siluanov said Russia was likely to take steps to optimize its expenditures, with the country's budget deficit in 2015 standing between two and three percent.
On Monday, March futures for Brent crude fell by 0.95 percent, reaching $48.33 per barrel, while the price of West Texas Intermediate (WTI) futures for March delivery dropped by 1.13 percent to $45.08 per barrel.
Global oil prices started have fallen sharply since summer 2014 amid an oversupply in the market. However, the Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC) last November decided to keep the member nations' oil output levels unchanged.
