Moscow: An old India hand and Moscow's representative to the European Union, Mikhail Fradkov, was today (March 1, 2004) nominated as Russia's Prime Minister by President Vladimir Putin, less than a month before the Presidential election.

Putin, who surprised the nation by dismissing Mikhail Kasyanov from the post of Prime Minister six days ago, named 54-year-old Fradkov, a former Tax Police Chief, as the next Prime Minister during a meeting with his supporters from the Lower House of Parliament, Duma.

"We faced a difficult task - to present a new Government," Putin said in his televised address.

"This had to be a person of very high qualification, one who is decent, who has solid experience in various Government structures."

"This man is Fradkov, Mikhail Yefimovich, a Minister who represents Russia at the European Union in Brussels," Putin said.

In early 1980s, Fradkov had worked as Soviet Trade Representative in New Delhi and since then looked after trade and economic ties with India within the framework of Inter-Governmental Joint Commission in the Andropov, Gorbachev and Yeltsin Governments till 1997.

His nomination has to be approved by Duma, which is merely a formality as pro-Kremlin parties have an absolute majority in the Russian Lower House.