The First Deputy Head of the Yabloko faction of the State Duma Sergei Ivanenko thinks that the present Cabinet appointments made by President Vladimir Putin should be treated with “cautious optimism”.

In an interview with journalists on Wednesday March 28, 2001, Ivanenko said that the new nominee for Minister for Nuclear Energy was a “very good choice”, noting that the new Minister is “a well-known person and academician whose opinion is trusted not only by the academic community.”

Regarding the Defence Ministry, the appointment of Lyubov Kudyelina as one of deputy ministers is “also positive”, added Ivanenko. He expressed his hope that with the appointment of Kudyelina to the Defence Ministry the “military budget will also become more transparent”.

“Speaking about reshuffles in general, we can note that most of them are political in nature,’ stressed Ivanenko.

With this in mind, Ivanenko said when assessing the appointment as Minister of the Interior of the leader of the Unity faction of the Duma Boris Gryzlov, that “we shall be very glad if the new minister is able to resolve the Chechen problem”. Ivanenko stressed that Boris Gryzlov has received a “very tough job” and “one of the most difficult ministries”.

Judging by the appointments made by the President today, Ivanenko added that he is “forming a new government and his own team, changing the people inherited from Boris Yeltsin.”

Sergei Ivanenko also drew the attention of the journalists to the fact that the team is formed from people who are “personally loyal” to the President and “will implement exclusively President Putin’s policy”.

Sergei Ivanenko forecast that after the reshuffles in the interior and defence ministries, one should expect new appointment in the economic bloc of the government, which will be “most interesting”.

Based on Interfax reports.

See also:

Sergei V. Ivanenko

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