Russia
will create a multi-billion dollar
anti-crisis fund in 2015 of money destined for the Pension Fund and some left
over in this year's budget to help companies hit by sanctions, Finance Minister Anton Siluanov was quoted as
saying on Monday.
Several
waves of Western sanctions against Moscow for its involvement in the Ukraine crisis have limited access to foreign
capital for Russia's largest banks and key
oil companies.
Some
companies have asked the government for help, including the country's top-oil
producer Rosneft which said it would need 1.5 trillion roubles ($39.70 billion)
in aid.
Siluanov
was quoted as saying by Russian news agencies that the decision to stop
transferring money to the Pension Fund would hand the budget an extra 309
billion roubles ($8.18 billion).
He
said not all of that sum would go into the anti-crisis fund, but that it would
also receive at least 100 billion roubles of money left over in this year's
budget.
"This
100 billion roubles will be added to the (anti-crisis) reserve next year, which
will allow us to help our companies," RIA news agency citied Siluanov as
saying.
"We
are planning to create a reserve of a significant size."
It
was not clear how big the fund would be.
It
will be the second year running that Moscow has stopped transfers of funds from
the budget to the Pension Fund, which provides benefits for Russia's
pensioners, some invalids and families who have lost their breadwinners.