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Russian economy’s dependence on oil and gas revenues declining gradually, says Kremlin

However, the process is not as fast as one would wish, the Kremlin spokesman said

MOSCOW, September 2. /TASS/. The dependence of the Russian economy on oil and gas revenues is falling gradually, though not so fast as one would wish, Kremlin Spokesman Dmitry Peskov told reporters on Wednesday when asked to comment on the statement by the country's President Vladimir Putin that Russia is not a "gas station country."

"It is safe to say that the share of dependence on oil and gas revenues is declining gradually, though not as fast as one would wish," Peskov said.

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Asked to comment on the fact that in 2019 the share of oil and gas revenues of the Russian federal budget amounted to 40%, he said that "no one is obviously satisfied with that figure, though it tends to decline gradually, albeit slowly." "The decrease was plain to see" in the past 10-15 years, Peskov added.

Moreover, oil and gas revenues cover not only primary energy resources, "but also largely value-added derived products," he noted, although declining to specify the level of the share of oil and gas revenues satisfactory for the Russian economy.

The share of Russia’s revenues from the high-tech sector is also on the rise, Kremlin Spokesman said. "Amid the pandemic and new challenges that the country is facing, Russia’s science and medicine have demonstrated brilliant results on a global scale," he added.

Russian President Vladimir Putin said when answering a schoolgirl’s question during the nationwide "To remember is to know" open lesson dedicated to the 75th anniversary of the Victory in the Great Patriotic war on September 1 that the coronavirus pandemic revealed that Russia is a state with advanced technologies, not just a "gas station country" as some seek to present it.

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