Baseline scenario for 2017-2019 assumes both sanctions, retaliatory measures stay in place - PM
GORKI. Oct 13 (Interfax) - The Russian government when preparing the budget for 2017-2019 has chosen a baseline scenario for the social-economic development of Russia which contains an "extremely conservative estimate" for growth of oil prices.
It also assumes that sanctions against Russia and Russia's retaliatory measures will stay in place for the entire three-year period, Prime Minister Dmitry Medvedev said, opening a cabinet meeting which will consider the 2017-2019 forecast and the draft budget for the period.
"The guidance for the budget was the conservative variant of the socioeconomic development of the economy (the so-called baseline option with a price of oil at $40 per barrel in 2017-2019], we proceeded from an extremely conservative estimate of future oil price movement. This also, of course, caused disputes, but, nevertheless, I think that such an approach is correct, so that the income of state-paid employees, including doctors, teachers and all those who receive money from the budget, are less dependent on the commodities situation," the prime minister said.
"Also we proceeded from proposals on the probability of sanctions and countermeasures we implemented remaining in place for all three years, for the time of the budget forecast period [2017-2019]," Medvedev said.
"But even this baseline scenario envisages the economy's gradual transition from stagnation to growth. We are expecting that even next year signs will appear not only of recovery, but also of economic growth, and in the future this growth will strengthen," Medvedev said.