Russia says will restrict budget data in response to Western sanctions

Russia will start to restrict public access to some government data in a bid to protect the country from additional sanctions, the finance ministry said on Tuesday.

In a statement, the ministry said it will partially restrict the information about budget spending it makes public in response to the "negative consequences" of sanctions on the Russian economy.

Boosted by high energy prices for Russia's vital oil and gas exports, the country's budget surplus came in a 1.49 trillion roubles ($26 billion) for the first five months of the year, finance ministry data showed.