Putin nominated as Russian prime minister

MOSCOW, May 7 (UPI) -- Russia's new president, Dmitry Medvedev, Wednesday nominated former President Vladimir Putin as the country's new prime minister.

The nomination came on the same day Medvedev took over as president from Putin.

The ITAR-TASS news service said the nomination would be taken up by the Russian Duma May 8.

Putin and Medvedev are longtime allies, so Putin's nomination to be prime minister came as no surprise. In addition, the Russian news agency said, a majority of the Duma appears to support the move.

The prime minister's office is responsible for developing strategic plans for the Russian government.