The Russian Federation is going to borrow no more than $60 bln in the next three years, deputy finance minister Dmitri Pankin said in an interview with Russia Today television.

“We won’t manage to make the national budget balanced within a year or two. We’re presenting our program for funding the budget deficit that is designed for several years. We’ll be gradually reducing borrowings, but, needless to say, money will be raised within several years and not through a single tranche, but by means of many bond issues both domestically and globally," he noted. Pankin added the borrowing figures were determined for 2011—2012 as a whole, “$60 bln to be raised within three years is a ceiling”.

This sum was calculated on the basis of those oil prices that are built into the budget, i.e. $58—59 per barrel. “If oil prices are higher, our borrowing needs will be way lower," Pankin pointed out.