Russian President Vladimir Putin has said that the current low oil prices are “no tragedy” for the Russian budget, stressing that they may soon see an upward correction.
Speaking at a press briefing following talks with Ukrainian
President Petro Poroshenko in Milan on Friday, Putin said the
current price of US$80 per barrel is not profitable for producers
and should rise in the near future.
The Russian state budget is drafted based on the price of $96 per
barrel, he added.
Putin also reassured that that there will be no sharp rise in
Russia’s budget deficit. He did, however, state that some
corrections to the budget may be made, but that welfare spending
won't be affected.
“Maybe we’ll have to correct something in the budget. Maybe
cut down some items but it surely won’t be connected with cutting
social expenditures,” he said. According to the president,
Russia is able to make those corrections without any significant
losses taking place.