Putin's surprise pick for Russian PM addresses parliament

President Vladimir Putin's nominee for prime minister, Mikhail Mishustin, addressed Russia's State Duma, the lower house of parliament, on Thursday, outlining some of his key aims.

Mishustin spoke of preserving Russia's macroeconomic stability, of keeping inflation at around 4% and said work on 'national projects', Putin's flagship economic development program when he ran for a fourth term in office in 2018, must be sped up.

Russia's ruling party, United Russia, which has a majority in the Duma, unanimously backed Mishustin for prime minister earlier on Thursday, all but assuring his confirmation.