Russian Finance Minister: Saving on military expenses is impossible

Russian Finance Minister Anton Siluanov stated that military expenditures will exceed 10 trillion rubles (about $100 billion) and stated: “This is necessary to achieve the goals of the military operation and it is impossible to save on it.” .

Siluanov made a statement to Russian state television Rossiya-24.

Siluanov explained that they are evaluating privatization opportunities to increase budget revenues and said: “One of our resources is, of course, privatization, and next year we can consider the sale of some assets without losing state control.”

IT WILL INCREASE APPROXIMATELY 68 PERCENT NEXT YEAR

Siluanov stressed that he does not want to give details about which companies are likely to be privatized, saying: “I don’t even want to dwell on specific examples, this issue should be consulted with the government. “Privatization is a good source of financing budget expenditures,” he said.

Assessing the draft budget, which shows that Russia’s military expenditures will increase by almost 68 percent in 2024 compared to this year, Siluanov said: “Military expenditures will increase, reaching more than 10 trillion rubles. “This is necessary to achieve the objectives of the military operation and it is impossible to save on it,” he commented.

THE BUDGET PROVIDED A DEFICIT OF 1.7 TRILLION RUBLES IN 9 MONTHS

News published in the Russian press states that in the draft budget prepared by the Russian Ministry of Finance, defense spending is expected to increase next year by 68 percent to 10.8 trillion rubles compared to this year.

According to data published by the Ministry, in nine months of the year the country’s budget had a deficit of 1.7 trillion rubles. (AA)