Kremlin Spokesman Hopes Putin Will Run for Another Term

Dmitry Peskov, the Kremlin spokesman, expressed hope in an interview published this Friday that President Vladimir Putin will run for another term in the presidential elections scheduled for March, a step that would keep Putin in power until at least 2030. Putin has been in power longer than any other Kremlin leader since Joseph Stalin, even surpassing Leonid Brezhnev's 18-year tenure. He assumed power from Boris Yeltsin on the last day of 1999. In response to a question from a television channel for students of the Moscow State Institute of International Relations about who would be the next president after Putin, Peskov said: "The same person." He added with a smile, "Or a different person but the same." He continued: "Putin has not yet announced his intention to run, but I really want to believe he will, and I have no doubt he will win the election. I have no doubt he will continue in the presidency." Earlier this month, Reuters reported that Putin decided to run because he feels he must lead Russia during its most dangerous period in decades.