Russia: No 'Successor' To Putin

At his annual press conference, Russian President Vladimir Putin said the country's next president would not be an anointed heir, but the "democratic" choice of the people.

"There will be no successors," Putin said. "There will be candidates for the post of Russian president, and the task of the authorities is to make sure that the [candidates'] election campaigns and their positions are covered [in the media] in a democratic way, so that the citizens of Russia can make an informed choice."

The Russian president, whose second and constitutionally last term expires next year, has said he will not seek to run again. He has consistently demurred on the topic of naming a successor or seeking constitutional amendments that would permit him a third term.

At the nationally televised news conference, Putin said that he would endorse a candidate during the official campaign ahead of the March 2, 2008 vote.

Touting The Economy

The Russian president also fielded a number of questions on Russia's dependability as an energy supplier.

Putin rejected accusations that Russia is using its vast energy resources for political aims and praised the country's economic growth.

He said that Russian energy policy was based on market rules. He reiterated Russia's assertion that it is fully fulfulling its obligations as an energy supplier.

The Russian president said the country is moving from a policy of economic stabilization to one of development. He acknowledged that the government had much to do to reduce inequalities in Russians' standards of living.

Energy Problems

The news conference comes just weeks after a price dispute with Belarus resulted in a cutoff of oil shipments to several European Union countries.

It also follows a year when Russia's Gazprom monopoly dramatically raised gas-import rates in many of the former Soviet states.

More than 1,200 journalists from Russia and abroad have been accredited to quiz the president at the marathon session, which in previous years has lasted over three hours.

Putin is also expected to field questions on Kosovo and the troubled North Caucasus.

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