"The Defense Ministry does not need the Belgorod nuclear submarine," Sergei Ivanov said. "Therefore it will not finance its further construction."
The Oscar-II class Belgorod was laid in July 1992. Its construction, frozen in 1990s, was resumed after the K-141 Kursk nuclear submarine of the same class sank about 100 miles from the Russian northern port of Murmansk.
Ivanov, currently on a tour of military and nuclear test facilities in northern Russia, said several options were being considered for the submarine to be commissioned by another country.
"We are considering options to finish the submarine's construction, but not for the Defense Ministry," he said.
The submarine is reported to be 80% complete and requires $100m to finish the construction.
Ivanov, who is a deputy prime minister, also said the ministry intended to finance overhauling of the Admiral Nakhimov heavy missile nuclear cruiser.
Commissioned in 1988, the Kirov-class Admiral Nakhimov is capable of engaging large surface ships and to defend the fleet against air and submarine attack. Four cruisers were built but only the Admiral Nakhimov and Pyotr Veliky (Peter the Great), commissioned in 1995, remain on duty.
