Russian Finance Minister Alexei Kudrin has resigned following a conflict with President Dmitry Medvedev over apparent plans to have the president and prime minister swap jobs in next year's election.

Kudrin had criticized the government's economic policies and said he would not serve in a new government if Mr. Medvedev became prime minister and Prime Minister Vladimir Putin won the presidency in 2012.

Earlier in the day, Mr. Medvedev called Kudrin's remarks “improper” and he urged the finance minister to resign immediately. Mr. Medvedev told the finance minister that if he disagreed with the president's policies, his only option was to step down.

Kudrin had been Russian finance minister since 2000 and was widely credited with helping Russia get through the 2008 global financial crisis.

In Washington, State Department spokesman Mark Toner said U.S. priorities in Russia will not change no matter who is elected that country's president next year. He said the United States wants to resume missile defense cooperation and finalize Russian membership in the World Trade Organization. Toner said the reset in U.S.-Russian relations since Barack Obama became president has been successful.