It will take Russia four or five years to...

"Our goal is to cut the budget deficit," Pankin said at the MICEX-2010 financial forum in Moscow. "It will take four to five years to end the deficits."

Russian Finance Minister Alexei Kudrin on Tuesday promised 10 years of the country"s development without any increase in government spending.

"After a four-fold increase in budget spending, we"ll have a 10-year period without expenditure growth," Kudrin said.

The government plans to resort to foreign borrowings this year for the first time since the 1998 default, with the 2010 budget deficit projected at 6.8% of GDP.

Russia, which continues to receive the largest part of its revenues from the export of raw materials, was hit hard by the 2008 global financial and economic crisis and needs to balance its finances as its reserve fund, set up in previous years to accrue surplus oil revenues, may be completely used up this year.

Pankin said Russia was likely to borrow more funds domestically this year

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