Deripaska, once Russia’s richest man, told an investment conference in Siberia on Thursday: “There will be no money next year. We will need foreign investors.”
Deripaska, who is under sanctions from the UK, US and EU over Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, said funds were lacking, “so they [Krievijas valdība] have already started extorting money from us”, according to a “Bloomberg” report.
He said that Russia is suffering from “serious” pressure from Western sanctions, so the country and its companies will have to look for other countries with “serious resources” to invest.
“We thought we were a European country,” Deripaska said. “Now let’s think more about our Asian past for the next 25 years.”
Russia’s budget deficit may rise to 3.5% of gross domestic product (GDP), compared to the government’s forecast of 2% of GDP. In 2022, the official deficit was 2.3%, writes “The Guardian”.
“Sanctions and the war are limiting Russia’s fiscal flexibility … due to lower energy export revenues, higher war-related spending and a persistent decline in GDP,” the Reuters report said.
