The Russian Anti-Corruption Council adopted during a meeting a draft project on a new code of professional conduct for civil servants, the head of the Russian presidential administration said on Thursday.

"A project on a standard professional code of conduct for civil servants was considered," Sergei Naryshkin said.

"This code of standards should be approved most likely in October after reworking and taking into account today's meeting," he said.

The code should become an instrument of countering corruption among civil servants and increase their working efficiency, Naryshkin said.

The project coincides with Russia's commitment to its international obligations, he added.

"According to the standard, a model project for every branch of the government can and should be worked out and adopted for its own code of professional conduct," he said.

He added that the Russian Audit Chamber and the Prosecutor General's Office are presently implementing such codes.

The project is part of a Kremlin-driven crusade to eliminate red tape and corruption from Russia's bloated government apparatus.