|
|
 |
Economic and Financial Officials Clash over Far East Money
Russia’s government on Tuesday failed to reach a compromise on how to spend one trillion rubles of the Far East federal program. Economic Development and Trade Minister German Gref suggested financing the program through one agency while Finance Minister Alexey Kudrin insisted on the regular system.
Finance Minister Alexey Kudrin declines to put his signature on the Far East program, opposing plans to set up the one agency to oversee all contractors and developers, Deputy Economic Development Minister Vitaly Savelyev said at a session on the Far East Development on Tuesday. The Economic Development Ministry chose the one agency system, following the example of Sochi.
The Far East federal program is ready, and there are no questions on its financial part – even from the Finance Ministry, Mr. Savelyev said yesterday. Alexey Kudrin, however, still prefers not to sign it.
The program sees the federal budget earmarking some 91.1 billion rubles between 2008 and 2010 in the region. The total amount of financial will reach 1 trillion rubles, the Economic Development Ministry hopes.
Finance Minister Alexey Kudrin has “some doubts about the chosen way to manage the program”, insisting that money go through chief agencies as usual.
Another stumbling block is the Defense Ministry’s deep reluctance to pull out troops from the Russky Island in the Sea of Japan off Vladivostok. The withdrawal, which will cost 3.5 billon rubles, is timed for the APEC summit in Vladivostok in 2012.
www.kommersant.com
All the Article in Russian as of June 20, 2007
|
|
|
