(Adds details, background)
MOSCOW, March 12 (Reuters) - Russia cannot afford to cut interests rates to lower levels than inflation as it would represent a serious threat for the economy, Russian agencies quoted Prime Minister Vladimir Putin as saying on Thursday.
"If inflation is 13 percent, we cannot set the rates lower than that, it will destroy the economy," news agency Interfax quoted Putin as saying.
Many Russian companies and politicians want lower rates to make borrowing more affordable for cash-strapped companies and help the economy through its first recession in a decade.
However, the finance ministry and the central bank say official rates must be kept high to bring inflation under control, saying only then will banks be willing to lend again and rekindle the nearly dead domestic credit market.
The benchmark refi rate has been 13 percent since November,
although interbank rates can top 20 percent
Vesti 24 television channel also showed Putin as saying the package of measures to ease the effects of the financial crisis may reach 12 percent of gross domestic product this year.
"Government measures amount to around 4.5 percent of GDP and if you add the measures of the central bank, which is dealing with liquidity, it will amount to 12 percent," Putin said.
"Our anti-crisis package is bigger than in other countries," he added, speaking at a meeting with miners in the Siberian town of Novokuznetsk.
Russia has been battered by a departure of foreign capital, huge stock exchange losses and an assault on the rouble since its conflict with Georgia was followed by a worsening of the global financial crisis last year.
The government forecasts the economy to shrink 2.2 percent this year.
DEFICIT
Russia's GDP is expected to amount to around 40 trillion ($1.14 trillion) this year with a budget deficit of around 8 percent after the country revised its revenue forecast following a steep fall in energy and commodities prices.
"We will cover (the deficit) from past years' revenues...and this year we will spend around 3 trillion roubles from reserve funds on these aims," Interfax quoted Putin as saying.
The current budget plans for spending of 9.5 trillion roubles on revenues of 6.3 trillion.
Last month Finance Minister Alexei Kudrin said the government would spend 2.7 trillion roubles from its reserve fund to plug the gap.
Cash could also come from plans to issue up to 410 billion roubles in OFZ treasury bond, but demand has been low and the ministry cancelled two auctions last month. (Reporting by Tanya Mosolova; Editing by Jan Dahinten and Patrick Graham)