Speaking at talks with visiting prime minister Sergei Kiriyenko, the 67-year-old Kremlin chief also said the country needed to start thinking how it would pay back a huge international loan package and clear domestic debts.

Interfax news agency quoted Yeltsin as saying he was signing a decree on Saturday dismissing "one government member" and appointing another. But he declined to name those concerned. On the loans front, the IMF, World Bank and Japan have pledged $22.6 billion overall as a rescue package to bolster Russia's reserves, ease pressure on the rouble and help the country overcome a persistent financial crisis. The plan is one of the conditions demanded by the IMF in return for its $11.2 billion loan, the first $4.8 billion tranche of which was handed out this week.Kiriyenko held talks on Friday with US vice president Al Gore, who praised the young premier's commitment to reform and gave an upbeat view of Russia's chances of turning the corner.