MOSCOW: Russian Prime Minister Vladimir Putin, who has launched a bid to return to the Kremlin, said today that ex-Finance Minister Alexei Kudrin could serve in a future government and played down differences that led Kudrin to resign in September.
Kudrin quit after 11 years in the job in September, directly after Putin announced his plan to seek a third term as president, criticising a major increase in defence spending as a threat to the stability of state finances. (Reuters)