Russia's Finance Minister Alexei Kudrin does not plan to retire before the presidential elections in 2012, but may do so after, he said on Wednesday.
"Until 2012, until the spring, I am in office in accordance with existing regulations. After that, it will be different story," Kudrin told a summit of the Reuters news agency adding his resignation was not being discussed.
"I will resign in spring 2012, because the whole government will resign when a new president is elected. As for future plans, I am not ready to tell you anything yet," Kudrin also said.
Asked whether he liked his work, Kudrin said: "I must say, it is very difficult."
Rumors about Kudrin's possible resignation have repeatedly appeared during his term in office and intensified after the arrest of his deputy Sergei Storchak in 2007 on charges of embezzlement.
MOSCOW, September 15 (RIA Novosti)
