Global General

Medvedev says undecided about second term

(Agencies)
Updated: 2010-08-03 16:59

MOSCOW - Russian President Dmitry Medvedev said on Monday he had not yet decided whether to stand for re-election in 2012, but confirmed he would not run if his mentor Prime Minister Vladimir Putin was also on the ballot.

Medvedev passed the mid-point of his four-year term in May and speculation is building about whether he will stand again or leave the field clear for Putin to return to the Kremlin.

"I do not know what will happen in 2012, I don't know who will run," Medvedev was quoted as saying by state-run news agencies RIA and ITAR-TASS. "It may be Medvedev, it may be Putin, it may be somebody else."

Most Russians believe Putin remains the ultimate decision-maker and wishes to retain the levers of power well beyond 2012, though he may choose to do so from a different post than that of president.

Putin has already said he and Medvedev will come to an agreement before the 2012 election about who should stand.

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The Kremlin's priority is to maintain stability, and a race between two allies would damage the country, Medvedev said.

"The country must have an opportunity to develop stably, the country must live under a predictable scenario," he said. "Putin has thought about this, I am thinking about it, and the person who comes along after me must think about it."

Putin, president from 2000 to 2008, can run for president again in 2012 and stay in power until 2024 if he wins two more terms, extended under new rules to six years. Medvedev, criticised by opponents for failing to deliver on his promises of bold reforms, consistently trails Putin in opinion polls.

Twenty-seven percent of 1,600 people questioned last week said they would vote for Putin if presidential elections were held in August, while 20 percent said they would vote for Medvedev, the Levada polling centre said on Monday.