Prigozhin can be appointed as Russian Defense Minister only to exclude army from political struggle

Political expert Volodymyr Tsybulko stated this on Espreso.

“Despite the sharp division of spheres of influence among Putin's entourage, even the Defense Minister would be too powerful for the oligarchs. Prigozhin is connected to them,  along with Sergey Kiriyenko, the first deputy head of Putin's administration. If Prigozhin becomes the Defense Minister, Putin will sense an imbalance of power, which may lead to rebellion,” he said.

Tsybulko believes that Putin has a strong sense of fear towards the armed forces. 

“Moreover, an unwritten alliance exists between Prigozhin, Kadyrov, and the commander Zolotov, which was formed as a counterweight to the army in case of mutiny. Concentrating power in one person would not yield positive results. If it becomes necessary to demoralize and exclude the Russian Armed Forces from the political struggle, Prigozhin really can become Minister to cause some members of the officer corps to resign,” the expert concluded.