Yeltsin Names More New Ministers to Russia Cabinet- YELTSIN VOWS TO FILL LAST GAPS IN CABINET
May 9, 1998 - 0:0
MOSCOW Russian President Boris Yeltsin on Friday named several new ministers to the cabinet after talks with Prime Minister Sergei Kiriyenko, the Kremlin said. Yeltsin appointed Oleg Rutkovsky as health minister and reappointed Yevgeny Adamov as minister of atomic energy. But the president named Georgy Gabunia only as acting head of the newly formed Trade and Industry Ministry. President Boris Yeltsin promised to complete on Friday the line-up of Russia's new government at talks with Prime Minister Sergei Kiriyenko. The formation of the cabinet will be fully completed today, Interfax news agency quoted Yeltsin as saying before starting his meeting with the 35-year-old Kiriyenko in the Kremlin. There is a bit of clarification left to be done over some candidates...we will clarify everything today.
Yeltsin, 67, sacked his government on march 23, saying he needed a more dynamic team to inject life into market reforms. But the formation of the new government was held up by stubborn resistance to Kiriyenko's appointment in the Lower House of Parliament, which finally approved him at the third attempt on April 24. Since then, the names of most of the new ministers have been announced but Yeltsin said on Tuesday checks had to be made on the last two or three before they were unveiled.
Viktor Chernomyrdin, the man Kiriyenko replaced as prime minister, said on Friday the process was taking too long and the economy was suffering. It has dragged out too long, Interfax quoted him as saying after meeting World War Two veterans to mark the victory over Nazi Germany 53 years ago. The government is busy with its internal affairs when it should be dealing with the state's problems...all formalities must be completed.
It is too costly for Russia and there is a need to get down to work faster. The comments were as close as Chernomyrdin has come to openly criticising Yeltsin, his long-term ally, or the new premier. Yeltsin shrugged off the criticism, saying he had promised to finish the cabinet line-up within two weeks of Kiriyenko's appointment and was on target to do so.
The government is working hard on solving the problems that have piled up, he added.
Yeltsin, 67, sacked his government on march 23, saying he needed a more dynamic team to inject life into market reforms. But the formation of the new government was held up by stubborn resistance to Kiriyenko's appointment in the Lower House of Parliament, which finally approved him at the third attempt on April 24. Since then, the names of most of the new ministers have been announced but Yeltsin said on Tuesday checks had to be made on the last two or three before they were unveiled.
Viktor Chernomyrdin, the man Kiriyenko replaced as prime minister, said on Friday the process was taking too long and the economy was suffering. It has dragged out too long, Interfax quoted him as saying after meeting World War Two veterans to mark the victory over Nazi Germany 53 years ago. The government is busy with its internal affairs when it should be dealing with the state's problems...all formalities must be completed.
It is too costly for Russia and there is a need to get down to work faster. The comments were as close as Chernomyrdin has come to openly criticising Yeltsin, his long-term ally, or the new premier. Yeltsin shrugged off the criticism, saying he had promised to finish the cabinet line-up within two weeks of Kiriyenko's appointment and was on target to do so.
The government is working hard on solving the problems that have piled up, he added.