Budget implementation to level out in year, to be near forecast - Oreshkin

MOSCOW. April 25 (Interfax) - Implementation of the Russian federal budget, which saw a large deficit in the first months of the year amid a surge in expenditures and problems with oil and gas revenues, will level out by the end of the year, presidential aide Maxim Oreshkin said during the Znaniye Knowledge Marathon.

"The budget as a whole is stable. After a period of rather large budget expenditures at the beginning of this year, we will have a surplus budget before the end of the year, which demonstrates its stability. In general, deficit levels will be around target values [2% of GDP]," Oreshkin said.

According to the law on the budget, federal budget revenues in 2023 are planned in the amount of 26.130 trillion rubles and expenses at 29.56 trillion rubles, the deficit being 2.925 trillion rubles. In Q1, according to preliminary Finance Ministry data, the budget was implemented with a deficit of 2.4 trillion rubles, while in March there was a small surplus of about 180 billion rubles. This month, according to the preliminary data of the "Electronic Budget" website, the deficit in "online mode" (it may not provide a fully objective picture of performance due to the timing of expenditures and receipt of revenues) continues to grow. As such, on April 12 it was 3.36 trillion, and on April 21 - 4.31 trillion.