Kremlin aims to beef up its Security Council-paper

MOSCOW, July 26 (Reuters) President Vladimir Putin's aides plan to beef up a Kremlin advisory body known as the Security Council, turning it in effect into a parallel cabinet before his departure next year, a Moscow newspaper said today.

Putin has said he plans to retain political influence after he steps down at the end of his second term next year, and analysts have speculated that a Security Council with new powers could give him the platform to do that.

The Gazeta daily quoted an unnamed Kremlin source as saying Putin's staff was preparing a new document upgrading the status of the Council, an advisory board comprising top officials.

''Our source told us that the powers of the Security Council will be strongly enhanced,'' the paper said. ''It will turn into a body which controls so called 'power ministries' and will also work out a national political strategy.'' There was no confirmation from the Kremlin that it planned to upgrade the Council. Putin himself poured cold water on such suggestions last week, saying he did not see any point in giving it more powers.

''Power ministries'' in the Russian political jargon include the Defence ministry and the Federal Security Service which at the moment report directly to the president.

The newspaper also quoted an analyst with Kremlin ties as saying strengthening the Security Council would ensure stability during the handover of power to a new president.

''We are now preparing for a transitional period ... and the Security Council is returning to its role as a parallel, balancing government which should ensure that the policies of the country's leader are implemented,'' it quoted analyst Sergei Markov as saying.

Putin has ruled out changing the constitution to give him another four years in the Kremlin. He says he will quit after March 2008 presidential polls.

Putin's plans beyond that are keenly followed by Russia watchers and investors, who see him as an important guarantor of continued economic and political stability.

The question of what he will do next has become as big a riddle for Russia watchers as the closely guarded name of the candidate Putin will endorse to replace him as president.

The Security Council, along with top posts in gas giant Gazprom and the main pro-Kremlin party United Russia, have been mentioned by analysts among Putin's potential future jobs.

The role of Security Council Secretary is now vacant after incumbent Igor Ivanov resigned earlier this month.

Some analysts have said Putin may seek to emulate Deng Xiaoping, who was China's effective ruler during the 1980s without occupying any formal top government posts.

REUTERS AGL RN1426