At the meeting, Vladimir Putin said that there are two reasons for this step, which is being taken three weeks before the presidential elections. The first is political and the second is administrative and organisational.
The political reason is that the President believes it necessary to present to the public the person who he will propose as Prime Minister. Mr Putin recalled his annual Address to the Federal Assembly in 2003 in which he stated that questions of this kind would be decided through consultations with the parliamentary majority.
Speaking about the administrative and organisational reason for his decision to dismiss the government, the President noted that the government is obliged to resign due to presidential elections, and the appointment of the government, according to the timetable set out in the Constitution, could only take place at the beginning of June.
Mr Putin decided to dismiss the cabinet before the elections in order to save time for starting the constructive work of the government.