MOSCOW. April 29 (Interfax-AVN) - Russia plans to increase its budget allocations on national defense and law enforcement in 2004 by RUB100bn (USD3.21bn), Deputy Prime Minister Alexei Kudrin said.
"We will have to assess the degree to which our plans can prove successful, taking into account our spending priorities," Kudrin told journalists on Tuesday.
The Cabinet is expected to consider the main parameters of next year's draft budget at its June 5 session.
The deputy prime minister stressed that budget spending in 2004 will be adjusted for inflation. However, its size should not increase in relation to GDP due to the ongoing tax reform. Non- interest expenditure in the 2004 federal budget is expected to go down by 0.6% of GDP.