The creation of mechanisms to respond to crisis situations is a key task for the government, Russian Finance Minister Anton Siluanov said Thursday.

"The main task today is to create necessary mechanisms in case of emergency situations," Siluanov told reporters here.

For instance, he said, the government could reserve part of the funds as a guarantee to honor social liabilities and support businesses.

According to the minister, the government has already decided to reserve an additional 200 billion rubles (more than 6 billion U. S. dollars) for counter-crisis measures in 2012.

Meanwhile, Siluanov said, Russia's budget deficit in 2012 may reach no more than 1.5 percent of gross domestic product (GDP).

"The budget deficit will be at 1.5 percent," he said, adding the estimated rate would be slightly lower than expected.

The previous estimate of the 2012 budget deficit stood at 1.6 percent of the GDP.