MOSCOW, October 3. /TASS/. The Russian economy will grow at a rate above 2% over the next three years, Finance Minister Anton Siluanov said at parliamentary hearings in the Federation Council, the upper house of parliament.

"In general, we are implementing budget policy based on fairly favorable macroeconomic conditions. The growth of the global economy is expected, as well as stable demand for traditional Russian export goods at fairly high prices, and there is stable dynamics of the Russian economy - economic growth rates are more than 2%, 2.2-2.3% annually for three years. Nevertheless, we must be ready for various scenarios, the budget should not rely on favorable forecasts, the budget must consider all the commitments that were made," he said.

"Economic and financial fragmentation is gaining momentum, the structural imbalance has not gone away, and sanctions [have not gone] either. That is why we have to be ready for everything," he added.

About budget deficit

The Finance Minister also emphasized that Russia’s budget deficit for the entire upcoming three-year period will remain at a safe level and will not exceed 1% of GDP.

"The budget deficit throughout the three-year period will not exceed 1% of GDP. This is an indicator that allows us to talk about an absolutely safe level of budget deficit for all three coming years," he said.

About draft budget

On September 29, the Russian government submitted a draft federal budget for the next three years to the State Duma, the lower house of parliament.

According to the document budget revenues are projected at 35 trillion rubles ($353 bln) in 2024, 33.5 trillion rubles ($337 bln) in 2025, 34.1 trillion rubles ($343 bln) in 2026. Expenses are expected at 36.6 trillion rubles ($369 bln), 34.4 trillion rubles ($346 bln) and 35.6 trillion rubles ($359 bln), respectively. That means that the deficit could reach 1.6 trillion rubles ($16.2 bln) in 2024, 0.9 trillion rubles ($9 bln) in 2025, 1.5 trillion rubles ($15 bln) in 2026. As Russian Prime Minister Mikhail Mishustin said, the authorities tried to reduce the deficit as much as possible.