Peskov ruled out the impact of “frontal reduction” on national projects

The implementation of national projects is an absolute priority, therefore, the reduction of expenditures in the budget will not affect the national projects in any way. This was stated by the press secretary of the President of Russia Dmitry Peskov.

“They are an absolute priority. There are nuances in the implementation, but nevertheless, no one has abandoned these basic guidelines. Moreover, the implementation efficiency of the government is very high. The efficiency is great. Therefore, everything is done in its own way. There are some unprotected projects where you can save money. This is an absolutely normal process,” he said.

According to Peskov, although the national projects are not protected, they “may have certain nuances.” He stressed that this “does not lower the priority of national projects.”

At the end of June, the Ministry of Finance presented an initiative for a “frontal reduction” in government spending in the 2024 budget, Vedomosti wrote. According to sources, Siluanov, at a meeting of the government commission on budget projections, suggested that departments cut spending by 10%. On July 19, a Vedomosti source reported that the government had approved the Finance Ministry’s proposal.

July 18 Finance Minister Anton Siluanov explainedthat frontal reduction means “a uniform reduction in spending across all ministries and departments.”

Siluanov also assured that the reduction in budget spending will not lead to a reduction in spending on social benefits and defense. “These budget expenditure items are classified as protected,” he said. According to him, in the event of a frontal reduction, the costs of fulfilling obligations to citizens not only do not decrease, but even increase.