Russia President Vladimir Putin
on Friday said he had yet to decide whether to run for re-election. He, however, promised not to
change the constitution to allow him to keep on running indefinitely.
Putin, who has dominated Russia’s
political landscape for the last 17 years and boasts strong popularity ratings,
is widely expected to run for, and win, his fourth presidential term in March
2018.
He was speaking to school
children in the Black Sea resort of Sochi which analysts said was designed to
widen his support base among young people.
“Do I need to continue my work in
this capacity, I haven’t decided yet.
“I have not yet decided whether
to leave my post as president or not. After I address this issue, I will think
about what to do next”, he said.
Asked whether he had a
presidential successor in mind, Putin did not name any names, saying that the
choice would be up to the Russian people.
Putin served two presidential
terms before stepping down in 2008 to become prime minister to avoid a
constitutional bar on running for a third consecutive term.
He returned to the presidency in
2012 for another term and is legally entitled to serve for a fourth term as
well.
Some political commentators have
suggested that Putin could change the constitution to allow him to stay on as
president for a fifth term past 2024.
Ruling out an extension, the
Russian leader said “I had an opportunity, they even asked me to change the
constitution. But I didn’t do it.
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