MOSCOW. May 13 (Interfax) - Federation Council Speaker Valentina Matviyenko has called Andrei Belousov a good candidate for defense minister.
"In my opinion, this is a very good choice of the Russian president. The Defense Ministry's budget has more than doubled in recent years to approximately 6.7% of GDP. Everything ordered by the Defense Ministry for so much funds must be coordinated with economic capacities," Matviyenko said during consultations at the Federation Council Defense and Security Committee on Monday.
"Production needs to be organized so that the prices are right, [so that] it's effective" and products are of high quality, she said.
"The Defense Ministry should open up to the soonest possible introduction of innovations and new technologies," Matviyenko said.
Previously, Belousov "supervised unmanned vehicles and achieved good results," she said.
"He is a civilian, not a military man. The General Staff commands, oversees combat operations [and] the special military operation under the leadership of the supreme commander-in-chief; nothing is changing in this area, the work goes on, and no one should be worried," she said.
"As to the need for the accelerated delivery of new weapons, technologies and innovations, I do not see better candidates who could organize this work and achieve results. This is a very balanced, well-considered, timely and appropriate decision," he said.