MOSCOW, December 26. /TASS/. The Russian budget deficit in 2023 is expected to be at the level of 1.5% of GDP, Russian Finance Minister Anton Siluanov said in an interview with Rossiya-24 TV channel.

"The general parameters in nominal terms of the deficit of 2.9 trillion [rubles] have remained virtually unchanged, which means we expect this figure to remain unchanged. The share of GDP will be less than 2% - we currently anticipate a deficit of roughly 1.5% of GDP. However, everything depends on how much GDP we get after all the clarifications and recalculations, so the deficit could be less than 1.5%. However, based on current estimates of the nominal volume of GDP, it is approximately 1.5% of GDP, which is less than originally intended," he said.

According to the most recent estimates, the Ministry of Economic Development forecasts Russia’s GDP growth to reach 3.5% in 2023, although there will be no formal clarification of the forecast.