The Kremlin on Thursday described a significant decline in energy sales revenues and a growing budget shortfall as routine economic issues that can be managed through overall macroeconomic stability.
Spokesman Dmitry Peskov commented after a meeting President Vladimir Putin held with senior government officials this week to review the budget. Prime Minister Mikhail Mishustin said the session took place late Tuesday night and lasted several hours, and Peskov said the gathering demonstrated Putin’s close monitoring of economic developments.
Peskov acknowledged that oil and gas revenues have fallen, and he noted this reduction is partially offset by increases in non-oil and gas receipts. He told reporters that the stability of the Russian economy is absolutely ensured.
Following the budget meeting, Finance Minister Anton Siluanov said Russia plans to divert a larger share of oil revenues into its reserve fund and signaled that changes to this year’s budget would be announced within two weeks.
The drop in revenues from oil sales - the country’s primary export commodity - has been driven by Moscow being obliged to sell at larger discounts on global markets amid Western sanctions and U.S. pressure on major buyers. A stronger rouble has also reduced foreign-currency receipts from those sales.
While Kremlin officials presented the developments as manageable, they outlined a two-pronged fiscal response: increasing reserve-fund inflows from oil revenues and updating the current budget in the near term. The public comments emphasized continuity in macroeconomic policy and sought to convey control over fiscal dynamics despite the revenue shortfall.
Details on the specific size of the budget revisions or the exact reallocation amounts to the reserve fund were not provided in the statements referenced by officials.