Mr Kudrin reported to the President on the progress in a drafting budget plan for the next three years. The Minister noted that the main task of these coming years is the shift from crisis mitigation policies to post-crisis ones, and that if the good prospects for oil prices remain, Russia’s budget could be balanced in four years time.
According to Dmitry Medvedev, the key task now is designing a post-crisis economic model, while the state budget should become deficit-free in the near future. Russia must capitalize on the current rising prices for major commodities, which are part of its exports and source of its financial well-being.
The President stressed that crucial priorities for the government remain ensuring national defence capabilities and Russian citizens' security, as well as addressing critical economic and social problems, including welfare payments, which have gone up in recent years and correspondingly elevated the living standards of a large number of people.
Dmitry Medvedev said that in the near future he will deliver a Budget Address in which he will lay out the fundamental criteria for budget management.