Russian military denies rumors of Air Force chief resignation
05:42 22/01/2011
MOSCOW, January 22 (RIA Novosti) - The Russian Air Force has dismissed media rumors about an imminent resignation of its commander-in-chief, Col. Gen. Alexander Zelin.
"The Air Force cannot comment on these rumors because we are not aware of this fact," Air Force spokesman Vladimir Drik said on Friday.
Some Russian media sources earlier speculated that Zelin, 57, could be asked to resign due to age limitations and could be offered a high-ranking position in Russia's defense industry.
Russian Deputy Defense Minister in charge of personnel Nikolai Pankov also denied these rumors on Friday by saying Zelin's resignation was not on the agenda.
Zelin was appointed commander-in-chief of the Russian Air Force on May 9, 2007.
The general already was in the Russian media spotlight in 2009 when he was rumored to resign over his disagreement with the Defense Ministry's leadership on organizational issues.
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