President Vladimir Putin has accepted the resignation of General Leonid Ivashov, one of the top hawks dealing with foreign affairs in Russia's armed forces, the defense ministry said Friday.
Ivashov, 57, said on Thursday that he had submitted his resignation and was prepared to seek a civilian job. He did not explain his decision.
"The decree concerning my resignation is already on President Vladimir Putin's desk for his signature," Ivashov then told ITAR-TASS.
Ivashov headed the defense ministry's foreign affairs division and was one of the most virulent military opponents of US plans to build a missile defense shield, as well as of NATO's 1999 air campaign in the Balkans.
His resignation comes just two weeks after the dismissal of Deputy Chief of Staff General Valery Manilov, another hawk responsible for organizing media coverage of the war in Chechnya.
Analysts suggest the shake-up comes as part of an effort by Defense Minister Sergei Ivanov -- who assumed his post in March -- to install his own close allies in sensitive military posts.
The Itogi magazine, predicting Ivashov's dismissal, wrote this week that his tough rhetoric made it difficult for more reserved diplomats in Russia's foreign ministry to cooperate with their Western partners.
The magazine noted that Ivashov, sensing his imminent dismissal, last month toned down his rhetoric on missile defense.
"But that came too late," Itogi said -- MOSCOW (AFP)
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