Putin hints at presidency

Prime Minister Vladimir Putin hinted Monday that he would return to the presidential race in 2012.

In an interview with the Kommersant daily newspaper, Putin stressed the importance of the 2012 presidential elections to himself.

Putin ruled as president from 2000 to 2008 before handing the presidency to his successor, Dmitry Medvedev, in order to observe a law banning a third consecutive term.

However, Putin will be free to run again in 2012 for a newly extended term of six years.

"The most important thing is that these problems of 2012 don't derail us from the path of stable development," Putin added in the interview.

Putin's remarks in the extended interview with longtime favorite journalist Andrei Kolesnikov were immediately seized upon by some Moscow commentators as further evidence that he would return to the Kremlin in two years.

Commenting on foreign relations, Putin said he "really wants to believe" in a warming of relations between Washington and Moscow promoted by US President Barack Obama.

But he warned that there were still factors that could upset the "reset" in ties between the two Cold War superpowers.

Chief among them was what Putin termed the "re-arming" of Georgia following its 2008 war with Russia. Putin also criticized US plans for anti-missile systems in central Europe, saying that although Washington had abandoned plans to station missile batteries in Poland, there could still be a radar base in the Czech Republic, and other countries in the region might host elements of the system.

Agencies