Finance Minister: government to submit draft budget-2004 for consideration by State Duma in late August

The government intends to submit a draft budget-2004 to the State Duma on August 26, Vice-Premier and Minister of Finance Alexei Kudrin said. For the time being the government is moving to work out the budget according to schedule, Kudrin said, speaking at the traditional conference of the president of Russia with the members of the government on Monday. "There is no deviation from the schedule (of the work on a draft budget) now", the Vice-Premier said. According to him, in the first days of July the Ministries and departments will start submitting their proposals to the government commission on preparing the budget. Kudrin expressed confidence that all the proposals on a draft budget would be ready by August 7, and a meeting of the government at which the draft budget will be considered is expected to be held a week later, on August 14.