MOSCOW, September 20. /TASS/. The Russian government has approved the draft federal budget for 2019 and the planning period 2020-2021 at a meeting on Thursday, Deputy Prime Minister Vitaly Mutko told reporters.

"Yes, they approved it," he said answering the relevant question.

Earlier at the government meeting, Prime Minister Dmitry Medvedev noted that in 2019 Russia will have a surplus budget for the first time since 2014.

He added that the amount of the public external debt will remain at a relatively low level, budget revenues are expected to reach almost 20 trillion rubles ($301 bln), spending will be slightly over 18 trillion rubles ($270 bln).

According to Medvedev in 2019, the government will manage to fully restore the system of protecting the budget from external shocks. This system earlier helped the national economy to cope with the first global crisis of 2008-2009 and in 2014, when the second wave of the crisis began and Russia faced Western sanctions.

Medvedev noted that the draft budget comprises the program for the implementation of national projects and a comprehensive plan for the modernization and expansion of the mainline infrastructure for 2019-2024. At the same time, the largest amount of funds is provided for the support of demography, health and education, the head of government said.