Russian Deputy Prime Minister: 2004 federal budget will be the most ambitious in the past years

The Russian 2004 federal budget will be "the most advanced and ambitious in the past years," said Deputy Prime Minister and Finance Minister Alexei Kudrin at a meeting in his ministry on Tuesday where the draft budget was discussed. Today the draft will be submitted to the lower house of the Russian parliament - the State Duma.

The Deputy Prime Minister is confident that during the debate in parliament the main parameters of the budget will not be changed substantially.

According to Kudrin, the Government could "find all reserves" and effectively distribute the funds for the key priorities. Among the priorities he named education, the social policy and public health. Considerable attention during the debate on the draft was devoted also to the country's defense and security and to space exploration," Kudrin said.