MOSCOW, November 17 (RIA Novosti) - Greenpeace's new head, South African activist Kumi Naidoo, can be expected to pursue balanced policies, the head of the Russian branch of the global environmental group said on Tuesday.

"I am acquainted with the head of Greenpeace International, he is a steady person with an inherent sense of proportion, and I do not think his work in this post will be any more radical than it was in Greenpeace before," Sergei Tsyplenkov said, adding Greenpeace operates in accordance with "established frames and bounds, which cannot be overstepped."

Tsyplenkov said Naidoo had visited Russia twice and participated in a civil forum ahead of the G8 meeting in St. Petersburg in 2006.

He also pointed out that Greenpeace International is an independent organization.

Naidoo, a former secretary general of CIVICUS, an international alliance to strengthen citizen action and civil society throughout the world, took office as executive director of Greenpeace International on Monday, succeeding Gerd Leipold who steps down after nine years.

Naidoo, who led global campaigns to end poverty and protect human rights, is the first African to head Greenpeace.