Kudrin seeks independent expert role

Former finance minister Alexei Kudrin said on Tuesday he is seeking a new role as an independent economic expert and reiterated he had no plans to work in government institutions. "At some moment, I was at a crossroads and needed to set my mind: to become an independent expert or act on behalf of government institutions. The idea of acting as an independent expert seems to be more interesting for me," Kudrin said on the sidelines of the Moscow International Finance Week. Kudrin, who had headed Russia’s Finance Ministry since 2000, was dismissed on September 26 after a public standoff with President Dmitry Medvedev over the key issues of fiscal policy, particularly military spending. Kudrin said he had received interesting job offers but was not prepared to discuss them so far.