Report: Russian finance minister resigns after dispute with president
Russian President Dmitry Medvedev (L) seen during a meeting with Finance Minister Alexei Kudrin on May 23, 2011.
September 26th, 2011
02:03 PM ET

Report: Russian finance minister resigns after dispute with president

[Updated at 2:03 p.m. ET] President Dmitry Medvedev has signed an order dismissing longtime Finance Minister Alexei Kudrin, the Kremlin reported Monday on its website.

The state-run RIA-Novosti news agency said Kudrin had resigned amid a dispute with Medvedev.

[Posted at 12:15 p.m. ET] Russian Finance Minister Alexei Kudrin resigned Monday amid a dispute with President Dmitry Medvedev, the state-run RIA-Novosti news agency reported.

The president had given Kudrin until the end of the day to decide whether to resign, the state-run Interfax News Agency reported earlier in the day.

"You need to make a decision quickly and tell me about it today," Medvedev told Kudrin during a session of the modernization commission in Dimitrovgrad. Medvedev urged that Kudrin "make up his mind about his political future."

The president was reacting to a comment Kudrin is reported to have made in Washington. Citing differences with Medvedev, particularly related to defense spending, Kudrin said that he would not remain in a government led by Medvedev, Interfax said.

- CNN's Maxim Tkachenko contributed to this story.

soundoff (60 Responses)
  1. gin n tonic

    Don't p/@@ off the putkin.

    September 27, 2011 at 12:43 pm | Report abuse |
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