ST.PETERSBURG, July 3. /TASS/. The Russian Defense Ministry has no plans to curtail the State Program of Armaments until 2020 and does not expect reductions in the State Defense Order for 2016-2018, Deputy Defense Minister Yury Borisov told reporters on Friday.

He was speaking after a flag-raising ceremony on board the third Project 636.3 submarine named Stary Oskol built for the Russian Black Sea Fleet.

"We have no intention to cut back on the plans of the State Program of Armaments, it was endorsed by the president until 2020," Borisov said. "The Russian Defense Ministry is developing contracts for the defence industry for 2016 through to 2018. Of course, there will be some kind of debate with the Finance Ministry on allocating funding from the state budget. But we do not expect substantial budget cuts," he said.

"So, we do not have any apprehensions," Borisov added.

Deputy Defense Minister Tatyana Shevtsova earlier said that the funding for the State Program of Armaments was not subject to reduction. In March she noted that the share of the state program in the Defense Ministry’s budget was growing, having reached almost 62% in 2015 compared to 37% in 2013.