Russia has expressed opposition to a proposed increase in the UN`s budget for the next two years.

Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon told the U.N. General Assembly`s budget committee on Thursday that he was seeking a budget of $4.2 billion for 2008-09. While the figure is a 5 percent increase over the $3.8 billion budget for 2006 and 2007, Ban said it only represented $23 million in real growth, or 0.5%.

"That is not much, considering the demands upon us," he said. "Never has the world so needed a strong United Nations. Yet never have our resources been stretched so thin."

Russian First Deputy Permanent Representative to the UN Igor Scherbak said that the actual level of the UN`s 2008-09 budget "could come to more than $4.6 billion," going on to note that this was a significant increase from the current budget, and something that was "cause for concern".

"The given figures are misleading, in as much as they fail to take into account a whole range of elements, not included for one or another reason in the proposed budget," added Scherbak.

The UN`s so-called `regular budget` does not account for funds allotted to peacekeeping operations and international tribunals, which are paid for from a separate UN budget.

Scherbak also said that Russia was "unconvinced of the urgency to make a decision" over the proposed budget, and that the proposals also failed to meet UN rules.

Russia, stressed the diplomat, would push for a moderation of the "unjustified growth" of the proposed budget.
sections: Economics, World News