YEREVAN, December 14. /ARKA/. Russia’s former finance minister Alexei Kudrin, a long-time ally of Putin who was ousted in September by president Medvedev for criticising the government’s high spending ambitions, said in an interview with Ekho Moskvy radio stations that the second wave of economic crises in the world is coming, which may in turn cause a drop in oil prices, and result in Russia’s difficulty in implementing its 2012 budget, RIA Novosti news agency reported.
In his first live interview since his sacking Kudrin said it would be difficult to implement the budget if the global economic situation worsens, noting also that the country’s budget is 40% dependent on oil revenue. His disagreement with higher military spending in particular led to a harsh criticism from Medvedev and a subsequent departure.
Kudrin said he sees danger of a recession in the euro zone, the probability of which he sees at 70%, which in turn may cause difficulties in Russia’s plan to borrow RUB800 billion in 2012 and get the needed revenue from oil. He noted Russia still has its rainy-day reserve fund, which will last for a year if oil prices drop below $80 a barrel.-0-
