Mr. Fradkov said his resolve to work as Prime Minister strengthened following consultations at the State Duma, Rossiya (Russia) television reports. “In my opinion, we had a very serious, interesting and useful conversation,” he noted. According to him, State Duma deputies paid particular attention to social issues.

Mr. Putin expressed satisfaction with the results of Mr. Fradkov’s consultations at the Duma. “I very much hope that this will be a good start for constructive cooperation between the parliament and the future government,” the President stressed.

For his part, Vyacheslav Volodin, Deputy Chairman of the State Duma, expressed confidence that the members of the United Russia party would be nominated for key positions in the government. In his opinion, the formation of the government should be based on a parliamentary majority (United Russia won the recent parliamentary elections by a landslide).

Speaking about the possibility of Mr. Fradkov joining United Russia, Mr. Volodin said: “Everything in its own time. Perhaps, the time will come when Mikhail Fradkov will decide to join the party.”