MOSCOW, April 14: Russian President Boris Yeltsin today moved one step ahead in his battle to force deputies to accept Sergei Kiriyenko as premier by securing unexpected support from influential Duma speaker Gennady Seleznyov.
After his emergency meeting with Yeltsin in the Kremlin, Seleznyov urged the deputies to confirm the appointment of Kiriyenko as the new prime minister at Friday’s voting to avert imminent dissolution of Duma.
"We must confirm him," Seleznyov, a top Communist, told a hurriedly convened news conference after meeting Yeltsin.
Leftist parties in Parliament had previously instructed their deputies to vote against Kiriyenko’s candidacy.