Russian Prime Minister Vladimir Putin has dismissed rumors about him still running Russia as "a complete nonsense" and said he was fed up with foreign policy affairs.
"It is a complete nonsense that I am still running the country," the prime minister said on Monday during a 2,000-kilometer trip along the newly completed Khabarovsk to Chita highway.
Putin said he was mainly engaged in Russia's domestic affairs.
"I am fed up with foreign policy," Putin said, adding the stronger the nation's domestic policy is, the stronger the foreign one.
Putin said Dmitry Medvedev was good at performing his duties.
"I do not see anything that would cause fear and anxiety. The president does everything in a high-quality and informed manner. Everything that he does in the foreign policy sphere. I can call him, he can call me, we can consult each other," Putin said, adding he often spends time with Medvedev.
Opinion polls show that Putin continues to be the country's most popular politician, despite growing public dissatisfaction over the authorities' apparent inability to take control of the wildfires that scorched central Russia this summer.
Most people in Russia believe Putin actually runs Russia, not President Medvedev.
Putin said changes in the government were possible, but they should be made with the caution and restraint.
AMUR HIGHWAY (Chita region), August 30 (RIA Novosti)
