Russian prime minister submits resignation to Putin

MOSCOW — Russian Prime Minister Dmitry Medvedev submits his resignation hours after President Vladimir Putin proposed a constitutional overhaul to boost the powers of parliament and the Cabinet, a move signaling Putin’s intention to carve out a new position for himself after his current term ends, during his state of the nation address.

The Russian leader thanked Medvedev for his service but said the prime minister’s Cabinet had failed to fulfill all of its objectives. In televised remarks, Putin said Medvedev would take up a new position as a deputy head of the presidential Security Council.

Medvedev, a longtime close associate of Putin’s, has served as Russia’s prime minister since 2012. He spent four years before that as president in 2008-2012, becoming a placeholder when Putin had to switch into the prime minister’s office because of constitutional term limits on the presidency. Medvedev obediently stepped down after just one term as president and let Putin reclaim the top job in what was widely seen as cynical political maneuvering and triggered massive protests in Moscow.

Putin asked the members of Medvedev’s Cabinet to keep working until a new Cabinet is formed.

— AP