Russia reducing share of budget revenue from gas and oil, minister says

(Reuters) - Russia is reducing the share of budget revenue derived from gas and oil production and hopes to bring down its reliance on volatile commodities to about 23% by 2027, Finance Minister Anton Siluanov said in an interview broadcast late on Wednesday.

Siluanov, quoted by Russian news agencies, also told RT Television's Arabic service that new regulations on cryptocurrencies in Russia were not designed to generate income but rather as a mechanism to facilitate foreign trade.

WHY IT'S IMPORTANT

Russia has been attempting to reduce its dependence on its oil and gas reserves, which face volatile markets, as a means to provide budget revenue.

Cryptocurrency regulations are seen as a tool to help Russia conduct foreign trade operations and skirt Western sanctions imposed after Russia's invasion of Ukraine.

Russia has faced delays in international payments with major trading partners such as China, India and the United Arab Emirates after banks in those countries have become more cautious due to pressure from Western regulators.

KEY QUOTES

"In general, we are trying at this time to minimise the influence of oil prices on the budget. Whereas a few years ago this indicator stood at 35%-40%, in 2025 it will dip to 27% and in 2027 to 23%."

"We are moving towards reducing the share of volatile income and reducing Russia's dependence on oil and gas in favour of boosting our domestic economy".

"The result of mining is that cryptocurrencies will be a means of payment, including with our foreign trade partners...So it is not so important how much we earn from mining, but rather that legislation permits it to be used in settling accounts mainly not domestically, but abroad for goods and services."

CONTEXT

Cryptocurrency mining legislation signed by President Vladimir Putin will come into effect under certain conditions from Nov. 1.

A special register will be maintained by the finance ministry for companies engaging in cryptocurrency mining. Individuals mining digital currencies will have to provide certain information to Russia's financial monitoring regulator.

(Reporting by Ron Popeski; Editing by Jamie Freed)