President Vladimir Putin said on Monday he would become prime minister in a future Russian government if his close ally Dmitry Medvedev was elected president, giving Putin a new role after he leaves the Kremlin.
"If Russian citizens express their confidence in Dmitry Medvedev and elect him as the country's president, I will be ready to head the government," Putin told a congress of his United Russia party held near Moscow's Red Square.
Medvedev, who was formally proposed by Putin as United Russia's parliamentary candidate, is virtually certain to win next March's presidential election since most Russians will vote for whoever the highly popular Putin endorses.
"(We) shouldn't be ashamed or afraid of transferring the key powers of the country, the destiny of Russia to the hands of such a man," Putin added in his speech. Putin signalled Medvedev, a first deputy prime minister and chairman of state gas giant Gazprom, last week as his preferred successor. The constitution bars Putin from a third term.
Analysts said the choice of a loyal long-time colleague with no political base of his own signalled Putin's desire to keep a grip on power after leaving the Kremlin next May. In his acceptance speech, Medvedev listed his key policies, such as strengthening Russia's position in the world, preserving the Russian nation, looking after the young and the old. "All this is in Vladimir Putin's strategy. I will be guided by this strategy, if I am elected president," Medvedev said.
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