Finance Ministry Reports Allocations To Reserve Fund

The volume of Russia's reserve fund that was created for servicing foreign debts, will make up about 60bn rubles ($2.01bn) by the end of 2001. Meanwhile, the total sum of additional budget revenues will amount to 318bn rubles ($10.63bn), Deputy Finance Minister Bella Zlatkis announced at the conference 'History and the current situation on the Russian stock market' today. She believes that this fund together with the delay of some budget expenditures (more than $2bn) next year to the fourth quarter of 2002 will allow for avoiding negative tendencies with the state debt in the event oil prices plummet. In general, the Deputy Finance Minister stressed that the total volume of Russia' state debts presents no threat to the country's economy even in 2003, when Russia will face significant debt payments. At the same time, she mentioned that Russia will have to make large debt payments up to 2008 and these payments will reach more than $10bn a year and, in some years, even more than $15bn.