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Russia must break its dependence on energy exports, says Putin
Interfax

Moscow, 23 May: Russian President Vladimir Putin has stressed that Russia, in planning its spending, must live according to its means and not rely solely on a favourable hydrocarbons market.

"All the funding must come from money which the country earns, and not from windfall profits due to a favourable situation on the energy market," Putin said during a meeting with Komsomolskaya Pravda journalists.

He recalled that the debt of the former USSR, which is being paid back by Russia, currently amounts to 44bn dollars. "The interest charges alone are the same as what we spend on health, education and culture combined. They borrowed recklessly - what's more, on bad terms," the president noted.

He agreed with one of the participants in the meeting, who had criticized the Finance Ministry for its greed. "The Finance Ministry can certainly be criticized. I can also be criticized. But we cannot solve one set of problems by creating others," Putin said.

He stressed that "if the Finance Ministry violates the principles on which an effective economy is based, all our finances will collapse, like nature reserves that lack sufficient funding for maintenance".