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Putin 'won't run for 3rd term'
25/10/2006 14:55 - (SA)
Moscow - President Vladimir Putin reaffirmed on Wednesday that he would not try to run again for the presidency, but said he would retain influence over Russia even after leaving office in 2008 as required by the constitution.
Speaking during a nationally televised question-and-answer session, the Russian leader also vowed that the perpetrators of the recent high-profile killings of a Central Bank regulator and well-known investigative journalist would be brought to justice.
He also hailed the oil-rich country's newfound financial muscle that has sent the economy growing at an impressive rate of about seven percent annually.
"In all, I can say we are satisfied with how the country is developing, including the economy," he said.
Sounding by turns like a populist politician, lecturing professor and concerned father, the Russian leader fielded 56 wide-ranging questions or complaints lodged by phone, e-mail, text message and video link from around the country and the Ukrainian port that is home to Russia's Black Sea Fleet.
Questions in Putin's fifth such session since coming to office in 2000 ranged from low salaries and pensions to policies toward Russia's neighbours to the 2008 presidential elections.
Barred from running for third term
Dressed in a dark blue suit and striped tie and seated at a rectangular table, Putin jotted notes, carefully referred to questioners by name, and showed off his mastery of facts by reciting arcane statistics such as the length of a highway or level of property taxes that should be paid on a country house.
The immensely popular Putin is constitutionally barred from running for a third consecutive term, but supporters and various regional groups, including in Chechnya, have called for a referendum on amending the country's laws to allow him to stay in power.
"Even having lost the powers and the levers of presidential power and not tailoring the basic law according to my personal interests, I will manage to retain the most important thing that a person involved in politics must cherish - your trust," he said.
"And using that, you and I will be able to exert influence on the life of our country and guarantee its development.
"Despite the fact that I like my job, the constitution doesn't allow me to run a third time in a row," Putin told a questioner.
- AP
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