Russia not to cut budget spending even in worst scenario situation – finance minister

ST. PETERSBURG, May 22 /ITAR-TASS/. The Russian government will not cut budget spending in 2014-2016 even if the situation develops in line with the worst scenario, Russian Finance Minister Anton Siluanov said Thursday.

“Hardly. We are adherents of keeping expenditures as anti-crisis measures. The logic of the budget process says that we have to honor our commitments in any conditions,” Siluanov said at the St. Petersburg International Economic Forum 2014.

According to Siluanov, should the situation follow the worst scenario, funds should be redistributed inside the budget.

In line with the law on the federal budget, expenditures are planned at 13.9 trillion rubles ($404.8 billion) in 2014, 15.3 trillion rubles ($445.6 billion) in 2015 and 16.3 trillion rubles ($474.7 billion) in 2016.