Moscow: State Duma, the lower house of Russia's parliament, is set to approve outgoing President Vladimir Putin as prime minister May 8, its Speaker Boris Gryzlov said Monday.

Russia's president-elect Dmitry Medvedev will be ushered in on May 7, replacing Putin, who has ruled Russia for eight years.

"We are looking forward to May 7 when Medvedev will be introduced, and also May 8 when we will approve Vladimir Putin's candidacy for premiership," Gryzlov told the press.

First Deputy Prime Minister Medvedev won a landslide victory in Russia's March 2 presidential elections, polling more than 70 percent of the vote.

Putin had earlier said he would accept the post of prime minister if Medvedev won.

According to the Russian constitution, the cabinet is dissolved on the day a president is introduced to enable him to nominate a new prime minister within two weeks. The new prime minister forms his cabinet in a week after his appointment.

Gryzlov, the leader of the United Russia party, which enjoys a parliamentary majority, said last Tuesday that Medvedev "will put forward Vladimir Putin's candidacy [for prime minister]."

Meanwhile, the ultranationalist Liberal Democratic Party (LDPR) and the Communist Party have insisted that more consultations with minority parliamentary parties were necessary.

It has been widely assumed that Putin, who cannot hold more than two consecutive terms as president under the constitution, will remain Russia's de facto leader, strengthening the currently limited role of the prime minister.

However, Medvedev said after being elected that he had no intention of redistributing powers between the president and the prime minister.

Speaking to the Financial Times shortly after his election victory, the president-elect said he was convinced his partnership with Putin would prove effective, and would not lead to a power struggle.

Source : IANS