Putin: I won’t be president for life

As reported in 'The Japan News' The Associated Press, Russian President Vladimir Putin prepares to toast with ambassadors in the Alexander Hall in the Grand Kremlin Palace in Moscow on Wednesday.

The Associated Press, MOSCOW (AP) — Vladimir Putin has said he won’t remain Russia’s president for life and will step down in line with the constitution no later than 2024, according to an interview with a Russian news agency released Sunday. Staying in office beyond that would be “detrimental for the country and I don’t need this,” he told the Tass news agency. Putin, 62, has effectively led Russia since he was first elected in 2000. He stepped aside after two four-year terms to abide by constitutional term limits, but retained power as prime minister and was elected president again in 2012 to a six-year term. Putin said his decision on whether to run for a fourth term in 2018 will depend on the situation in the country and his “own mood.” Throughout the interview, Putin described efforts at home and abroad that he said were aimed at trying to undermine his rule. He said the Western sanctions against Russian individuals and businesses over Ukraine were an attempt to punish his friends and were “driven by a desire to cause a split in the elite and then, perhaps, in society.” But to the West’s chagrin, Putin said, Russian society remained consolidated behind him.Speech