Russia was removed from list of top five military spenders in 2018 (File)
Moscow:
Russia plans to cut military spending as low oil prices and the coronavirus crisis hit its economy, according to a document released by the finance ministry.
The ministry proposed to the government to cut state military spending by 5% between 2021 and 2023. The proposal, released on Monday, also includes 10% budget spending cuts for the justice system, debt servicing of Russia and civil servants’ salaries. .
Russia, which demonstrated military strength with its annexation of Crimea to Ukraine in 2014 and its intervention in the Syrian conflict, dropped from the list of the top five military spenders in 2018 after its spending fell by 3 , 5%.
Last year it returned to the world‘s fourth-largest military spending and increased its military spending 4.5 percent to $ 65.1 billion, according to the Stockholm International Peace Research Institute. This amount corresponds to 3.9% of its gross domestic product, he said.
President Vladimir Putin called for better living standards and investments in health care and education. Some government officials have called for cuts in military spending to free up funds for such initiatives.
Military spending increased under Putin, but the Kremlin said in 2018 that Russia would cut its defense budget to less than 3% of GDP over the next five years.
The exact figures for military funding are considered a state secret in Russia, but in 2018 the Defense Ministry said 20 trillion rubles ($ 282 billion) had been set aside for the construction of military infrastructure in as part of a new armament program for 2018-2027.
The World Bank expects the Russian economy to contract by 6% this year.
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