MOSCOW, January 26. /TASS/: New Russian Prime Minister Mikhail Mishustin has a certain freedom of actions to form his team, Kremlin Spokesman Dmitry Peskov said in an interview with "Moscow. Kremlin. Putin" program on Rossiya-1 TV channel on Sunday.
"Certainly, there is some candidate pool, from where if needed candidates are picked or proposed. However, since Mishustin received a proposal to head the cabinet, definitely, I believe he had and has a certain carte blanche to form his team," Peskov said.
The Kremlin spokesman noted that Mishustin as the head of government is responsible before the state.
Peskov stressed that Russia’s cabinet reshuffle was linked to the new goals set by President Vladimir Putin. "This is an extraordinary task and this requires a government with maximum efficiency, dynamics and flexibility at work. That’s because now there are no other options," he said.
The previous Russian government resigned on January 15 in the wake of constitutional amendments proposed by Putin. The president accepted the cabinet’s resignation and nominated the chief of the Federal Tax Service, Mikhail Mishustin, for the prime minister. The next day Russia’s lower house of parliament, the State Duma, confirmed Mishustin as the new prime minister. On January 21, the Russian president’s decrees approved the government’s structure and its new members.
