Russian government may cut alterable budget articles by 5-

The Russian government may cut alterable budget articles by 5-10 percent in 2014-2016, Minister of Economic Development Aleksey Ulyukayev said at a government meeting here on Thursday. “Doing this work now, we are cutting strongly alterable budget expenditures by 5-10 percent in 2014-2016,” the minister said. Prime Minister Dmitry Medvedev emphasized that some cuts may be even larger. "Thus I ask all colleagues, all ministers at this table, to take a collaborative approach on this issue," Medvedev said. Speaking on specific features of a three-year federal budget, he recalled that continuous reduction of foreign demand was highly probable but at the same time, there were forecasts pointing to the contrary. “The tendencies are oppositely directed,” the prime minister said. He noted serious risks related to lower investment activity. The document establishing Russia's budget for the next three years is to be submitted to the parliament in October.