When asked an uncomfortable question about money, the Russian finance minister answered by clenching his fist – for which he received criticism and retorted to the questioner that these were just his “fantasies”.
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The session moderator, State Duma deputy Andrey Makarov, asked A. Siluanov if he felt that “our security reserve is no longer so strong”. A. Makarov noted that on May 1, the size of the National Welfare Fund’s liquid assets was 2.9 trillion rubles, or 1.3 percent of GDP, while in 2020 its size reached 8 percent of GDP, according to the “Agentstvo” portal.
“So, if something new happens, will we have resources?” – asked A. Makarov.
“We are constantly being shaken”
“We are constantly being shaken, and I think we have already acquired a certain resilience,” – replied Finance Minister A. Siluanov.
At the same time, the head of the Ministry of Finance admitted that the National Welfare Fund had decreased. Over the past four years, Russian authorities have used 15 trillion rubles previously accumulated in the fund, said A. Siluanov.
These funds “were used not only to cover budget expenditures but also for investments in the economy”.
“That’s more than 4 trillion rubles out of 15. This means that we used the National Welfare Fund for infrastructure and technology development, which also contributed accordingly to economic development,” – explained the head of the Russian Ministry of Finance.
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Now “the situation is better”, so “we will accumulate, we will recover”, he said, without detailing his expectations.
The Minister called it the interviewer’s “fantasies”
Later, the head of the Ministry of Finance said that “the security reserve is not only in finances”.
“The security reserve is primarily our people, the security reserve is our capabilities and technologies, in which we have invested a lot. Therefore, all this constitutes the country’s overall security reserve, which we have and which has been created over the past years,” – said the head of the Russian Ministry of Finance.
Speaking about “our people”, A. Siluanov clenched his hand into a fist, which A. Makarov noted: “For the first time, the finance minister showed a fist to television viewers.” A. Siluanov called this the session moderator’s “fantasies”.
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