MOSCOW (Reuters) -- Russian Prime Minister-designate Viktor Zubkov pledged on Friday to press ahead with President Vladimir Putin's policies and said bringing about a recovery in the once-mighty military-industrial complex was a top priority.

""Our strategic goal is to help lift the defense industry complex,"" Zubkov told deputies in the State Duma (parliament).
Under Putin, Russia's defense budget has been growing by around 30 percent a year and the armed forces have started to test new weapons, including improved long-range missiles and a powerful vacuum bomb.
Zubkov began by making clear that, as expected, he would stick to Putin's established policies, including further reducing inflation, preventing sharp fluctuations in the value of the ruble and reducing taxes.
""I believe our priorities should be the strategic targets and programs of concrete actions set out in the president's state of the nation addresses in the past few years,"" the premier-designate said.
""I think the government must find room to further reduce taxes.""
Zubkov, speaking less than three months before nationwide parliamentary elections, also suggested that Russia's key natural resources sector ought to bring in more cash.
""Russian oil and gas, forest, fish and other natural riches should bring more revenue,"" he said.
Zubkov said also on Thursday he won't rule out a run for the presidency amid rising speculation his appointment could be part of Putin's plan to retain control over the government after stepping down next spring.
Asked whether he would be president, Zubkov said: ""If I achieve something in this position, I do not rule out this scenario.""
State-run television pumped up Zubkov's image, depicting him as honest and hardworking, and broadcast a lengthy interview in which he talked about his slow rise through the ranks of Soviet agricultural bureaucracy in the 1970s.
""Zubkov is a person whom the president trusts, and he has maintained an equal distance from the Kremlin's centers of influence,"" said Alexei Makarkin, a leading analyst with the Center for Political Technologies. ""Putin shows he isn't a lame duck and would maintain full control.""
Zubkov, who is much older than most members of Russia's political elite and appears to be less ambitious than Ivanov or Medvedev, could make a more convenient interim figure in case Putin intends a comeback.
""If he does become Putin's successor, it will likely be for only one term. Then Putin will say, 'I am ready to return,'"" Communist lawmaker Viktor Ilyukhin said on Ekho Moskvy radio.
Others speculated Putin may even decide to return earlier.
""Zubkov could be a convenient president who would give up power in Putin's favor in half a year or a year,"" analyst Mikhail Delyagin said in a commentary