Russian Prime Minister

Prime Minister Silayev spoke before reporters at the National Press Club about his visits with congressional leaders during his trip to the United States. Mr. Silayev is the first prime minister of Russia since Russia adopted sovereignty and instituted a parliamentary system of government. He is also a close ally of Boris Yeltsin, political opponent of Soviet President Gorbachev. In his remarks, Ambassador Silayev discussed the structure of the new sovereign government in Russia, and outlined the policies of the new Russian state. He named the transformation of the economy to a market economy as being the goal of the entire country, and described the anti-crisis program formulated by the Russian parliament. The principles of the program are as follows: the Russian parliament will not lead the country, but will demand representation in the Soviet government; all republics joining the union should have economic sovereignty; and individual states should have the authority to build foreign economic ties.