MOSCOW. April 25 (Interfax-AVN) - The appointment of Galina Karelova and Boris Alyoshin as new deputy prime ministers does not imply a change to the structure of the Russian government, Prime Minister Mikhail Kasyanov told a news conference in Moscow.
"This decision does not increase the number of deputy prime ministers in the government," Kasyanov said. He recalled that there were five deputy prime ministerial posts in the Russian government in 2000, and two of them had been vacant until recently.
Kasyanov said he plans to meet with the new deputy prime ministers to determine their purviews within the next few days.
Karelova will be in charge of all social issues in the government, while Alyoshin will supervise industrial policy, support of enterprises, development of small businesses and innovation policy, he said.
The prime minister noted that the defense industry is part of the country's industry and industrial policy, and therefore development of the defense industry will also be within Alyoshin's purview.
Kasyanov described Russia's military-technical cooperation with foreign countries as "one of the ten subjects" related to the defense industry's activity.
Kasyanov also recalled that military-technical cooperation is currently handled by a special commission led by President Vladimir Putin.