By Emre Gurkan Abay
MOSCOW (AA) - The Russian Finance Ministry said on Wednesday that 2.4 trillion rubles (some $35 billion) was spent from the National Welfare Fund to meet the budget deficit.
In a statement, the ministry said there is a reserve worth 10.4 trillion rubles ($150.8 billion) in the fund.
Some of the assets in the fund – worth 2.4 trillion rubles – were sold in December in line with budget rules, the statement added.
Russian Finance Minister Anton Siluanov announced on Jan. 10 that the budget deficit in 2022 stood at 3.3 trillion rubles (approximately $48 billion).
Due to Western countries’ sanctions over the ongoing Ukraine war and other matters, the Russian budget is expected to run a deficit for the next three years.
*Writing by Gokhan Ergocun from Istanbul