Medvedev proposes Sobyanin as Moscow mayor

MOSCOW, Oct. 15 (UPI) -- Russian President Dmitry Medvedev says he's proposing Prime Minister Vladimir Putin's chief of staff Sergei Sobyanin as Moscow's new mayor.

Sobyanin's candidacy will be voted on by the City Duma but analysts expect the 52-year-old Deputy Prime Minister will be approved, ITAR-Tass reported Friday.

The Moscow mayoral election is being watched ahead of the 2012 presidential elections and the appointment of Sobyanin should bolster Putin's position should he run again, the report said.

Sobyanin ran Medvedev's 2008 presidential election campaign and was head of the Putin and Medvedev administrations from 2005-2008, ITAR-Tass said.

Sobyanin says if he becomes mayor he will focus on corruption and transportation issues.