Kremlin approves budget spending freeze for 2017-2019

The Kremlin has endorsed a budget spending freeze in 2017-2019, the Russian newspaper Vedomosti reported on Wednesday.

The Finance Ministry's proposal, which planned to freeze the federal budget expenditure in nominal terms for three years at the level of 15.8 trillion rubles (246 billion U.S. dollars) per year, was approved on Monday at a meeting with Prime Minister Dmitry Medvedev, the newspaper said.

Russian President Vladimir Putin also agreed to a spending freeze.

According to the Russian Finance Ministry's proposal, spending on 36 of 43 state programs, roughly half of the budget, will decline in nominal value, except retirement costs, spending for economic development and management of public finances.

The Russian economy has plunged into recession since 2014 amid the drop in global oil prices and Western sanctions imposed over Moscow's alleged intervention in the Ukraine crisis. According to the Russian Finance Ministry, the country's budget deficit amounted to 350.36 billion rubles (5.33 billion dollars), or 5.5 percent of GDP, in May 2016.