Acting finance minister appointed in Russia

First Deputy Prime Minister Igor Shuvalov will oversee financial issues in the Russian cabinet, while Anton Siluanov will become acting finance minister following the dismissal of Finance Minister Alexey Kudrin, RIA Novosti cites Prime Minister Vladimir Putin as saying on Tuesday.

He stressed that both appointments had been approved by President Medvedev. "This is our joint decision. I hope there will be no setbacks," Putin said.

Kudrin was ousted on Monday after invoking Medvedev's wrath by saying he would decline a job in a future Russian government that Medvedev is likely to head. Kudrin cited disagreements with the president on economic policies, in particular on considerable defense expenditures, as the reason, RIA Novosti notes.