Kudrin will head the Council of the Center for Strategic Development

Ex-Minister of Finance Alexei Kudrin agreed to take the post of head of the Council of the Center for Strategic Development. It is reported by Interfax .

“They made me an offer, and I have already agreed, now the approval procedures are underway,” he said.

He said that the president of the council will be another person whose name will be published "in the near future." Kudrin also said that, in his opinion, the government needs to switch to a three -year budget.

“I believe that you need to cross, but I at the same time see that the government is not yet ready to give answers to all the questions that will allow you to make a three -year budget. Therefore, I myself expect this with interest, ”he explained.

According to him, the government will inevitably come to starting to cut expenses, because "at a price of $ 40 [for oil], we should have a budget deficit from almost 4.5% to 5% of GDP," and such a deficit "in Russia is very difficult to withstand for more than two years, and we will still have to reduce expenses."

Earlier, President Vladimir Putin, during a direct line, said that the authorities invited Kudrin to work on a development strategy after 2018. The Russian leader also called the ex-minister one of the “strong and useful experts” and recalled that earlier Kudrin refused to work in administrative structures. However, now, as Putin said, Kudrin's positions have “changed”, and he is “ready to contribute”.

Sources in early April also reported that the Center for Strategic Development was chosen to implement the new program, since "it has a good image train." The center was created in 1999 and worked under the leadership of Herman Gref, according to the leadership of which the Strategy 2010 was developed, which formed the basis of the economic policy of the government in the early 2000s. Elvira Nabiullina, Alexei Ulyukaev, Arkady Dvorkovich and Mikhail Dmitriev, who took high -ranking positions, participated in its compilation.