Defense Ministry denies Russia’s defense spending tops 5.3% of GDP

MOSCOW, Nov 22 (PRIME) -- Information that Russia’s defense expenditure has overshot 5.3% of gross domestic product (GDP) is incorrect, Deputy Defense Ministry Tatyana Shevtsova said on Wednesday.

Global auditor PricewaterhouseCoopers reported earlier this month that Russia’s defense spending amount to U.S. $70 billion or over 5.3% of GDP making it the 7th most militarized economy in the world.

Shevtsova said that the 2018-20 draft budget envisages national defense spending at 2.8%, 2.7% and 2.5% of GDP, respectively.

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