Putin tells experts he will step down in 2008

[Scurrilous]

<snip>

"Russian President Vladimir Putin on Saturday vowed to step down in 2008 and said he would recommend his successor fight poverty and ensure strong economic growth, said experts who attended a lunch with the president.

Putin spoke for nearly four hours to a group of about 50 foreign experts over lunch at his Novo-Ogaryovo residency outside Moscow, according to people who attended the meeting.

"The most interesting point was that he reiterated that he does not plan to run again for office in 2008 as he believes he has a moral duty not to break the constitution," said Angela Stent, director of the center for Eurasian, Russian and East European Studies at Georgetown University in Washington.

A Kremlin spokesman confirmed the meeting but said he could not immediately give comments.

Putin, 53, declined to give any details about who could succeed him in 2008, when he must step down after two four-year terms in office. Because the Kremlin has so much power, the issue of his successor is the hottest political topic in Russia."

http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2006/09/09/AR2006090900682.html