The Russian Ministry of Finance has informed other ministries about plans to cut budget expenditures to avoid a deficit, reports the newspaper Vedomosti citing sources, writes LETA citing BBC.
Earlier, Reuters reported on Wednesday that amid declining revenues of the state treasury, the government is discussing a 10% reduction in budget expenditures for 2026; however, this does not concern military spending and so-called protected social expenditures.
Two sources from Reuters confirmed that discussions on "optimizing" expenditures are ongoing, but the potential volume of cuts was not disclosed.
A decision has not yet been made and will depend on the stability of oil price growth caused by the war with Iran.
In January and February of this year, the Russian budget deficit, according to the Ministry of Finance, amounted to 1.5% of the gross domestic product (GDP), effectively reaching the stipulated ceiling of government debt at 1.6% of GDP, reports the government-controlled agency Interfax.
One of the sources from Vedomosti believes that long-term expenditures will be cut, such as those for the so-called national projects.
At the same time, expenditures for the war against Ukraine, social payments, and benefits for families of veterans of the so-called special military operation will remain unchanged.
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