Russian Parliamentarians Say that the OIL Crisis Negatively Influences the Budget of the Country

The leader of the pro-Kremlin Unity faction in the State Duma /lower house of parliament/, Vladimir Pekhtin, expects that the drop in the oil prices and the world economic recession will negatively affect the Russian budgets for this year and for the next one. Vladimir Pekhtin told reporters about it on Tuesday after the meeting in the State Duma of the Vice Premier and Finance Minister Alexei Kudrin with the leaders of the four main centrist associations. Vladimir Pekhtin believes that "the Russian economy is not only closely connected with the leading world markets, but is also dependent on them." This dependence grows, continued the leader of the Unity faction, in connection with Russia's intention to become a member of the World Trade Organisation. Therefore, said he, the recession in the world economy calls for preparatory measures. Vice Prime Minister Alexei Kudrin assured, said Pekhtin, that the Russian government intended to prepare its own proposals in connection with the slowing down of the growth rate of the world economy, in particular proposals concerning the distribution of revenues.