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Russia will not artificially lower oil output — deputy PM

The implementation of some projects could be halted, but there are no reduction plans, Russian Deputy Prime Minister Arkady Dvorkovich said

DAVOS, January 21. /TASS/. Russia will not artificially lower its oil output, Deputy Prime Minister Arkady Dvorkovich told TASS on the sidelines of the Davos International Economic Forum on Wednesday.

"We are not going to artificially lower anything," said Dvorkovich. According to him, the implementation of some projects could be halted, but there are no reduction plans.

However, Dvorkovich said that Russia has the opportunity to balance the budget by reducing inefficient spending. "We have the ability to cut costs everywhere except for social services and a number of military expenditures", Dvorkovich added.

The deputy prime minister said he does not rule out 15% budget expenses cut.

Dvorkovich does not see any grounds to lift food counter sanctions introduced by Russia against Western countries, he said on the sidelines of the World Economic Forum in Davos, Switzerland, on Wednesday. “We do not yet plan to lift the embargo, and looking forward it depends on sanctions (against Russia),” he said.

Dvorkovich said that the embargo put on Western food producers “is aimed at enabling Russian producers to have an opportunity to work on more competitive conditions as now they cannot take out bank loans at the same interest rates they had before sanctions were introduced.”