Opposition from the Russian military prevented Putin from following through. Instead, he gave Kudrin a caretaker role, nominating him to be Chairman of the Accounting Chamber, the state auditor. On May 22 Kudrin was confirmed [7] over an unprecedented vote of parliamentary opposition.
On Friday Peskov encouraged Kudrin's return to power, defending Putin's performance "so far" -- without rejecting Kudrin's policy. "The international situation," Peskov said [8] "-- the pressure on Russia, the adoption of illegal restrictions, unilateral action in the trade and economic direction, the terrorist threat. Of course, all this is a challenge in terms of our plans for the development of the country, but so far the leadership has managed to successfully cope with these challenges."
The state news agency RIA-Novosti also reported Peskov as adding that "we are talking about the illegal actions of a number of Western countries. Therefore, it is legally incorrect to call these actions sanctions. These are restrictions."
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