MOSCOW, May 10 (AVN) - Russian Chief-of-Staff Anatoly Kvashnin has appointed Colonel General Yuri Baluyevsky head of the working group for restructuring of the Defence Ministry main department for international military co-operation, a source in the ministry told the Military News Agency on Thursday.
Baluyevsky is also head of the General Staff main operations department and deputy chief-of-staff. His group is to prepare changes in the international military co-operation department's personnel structure.
According to the source, the group leader is to meet the international military co-operation department chief, Colonel General Leonid Ivashov, and other members of the group on Thursday. The meeting is also likely to involve Colonel General Igor Puzanov, state secretary and deputy defence minister.
At the first stage of the reform the main department will be transformed into a regular department and made subordinate to Puzanov, who will be also in charge of military-diplomatic activities of the Defence Ministry foreign relations department, the source said. The financial section and services in charge of arms exports will be divided from the international military co-operation department. The same is true for the section in charge of co-operation within the CIS that will be directly subordinate to the chief-of-staff.
The source said Ivashov would soon be fired due to reaching the retirement age. He is expected to join the administration of Igor Sergeyev, the Russian president's assistant for strategic stability issues, who earlier headed the Defence Ministry.
Ivashov is likely to be replaced by his deputy, Lieutenant General Nikolai Zlenko, the source said.