RUSSIA - Apr 11 - Putin Rules Out Third Term As Pres.

At a meeting with German media executives Putin insists he will not seek a third term as Russian Pres in 2008, in an apparent attempt to quash speculation that he will change the constitution to allow him to do so. Putin made the remarks in answers to questions. He said: I will not amend the basic law, and it is impossible under the constitution to be elected three consecutive times". He joked that he might be prepared to run for a third term at a later date, but added he was "not sure I will want to do that". The Pres's comments follow months of rumours - apparently fuelled by leaks from the Kremlin - that Putin and his entourage were examining ways of enabling him to continue as Russia's most powerful politician beyond 2008. Speculation intensified after the popular uprisings that led to regime changes in Ukraine and Kyrgyzstan, and after the recent emergence of the former prime minister Mikhail Kasyanov, sacked by Putin last year, as a potential presidential challenger in 2008. One possible scenario would involve changing the constitution put in place by Boris Yeltsin to allow a third Presidential term. Another, much discussed by Russian political analysts, would be a shift to a parliamentary democracy with a strong prime minister. Putin himself has been said to favour the German model, with a chancellor who leads the party or coalition holding a majority of seats in parliament, and a figurehead Pres. Under that model, Putin could assume the prime minister or chancellor role without violating the constitutional bar on a third Presial term. Putin's comments this week are not the first time he has ruled out a third term, but are his first since the recent speculation began. In a speech just before winning his second Presidential election last March, Putin said he would leave office in 2008 but recommend to voters someone he believed would be a good successor. "If voters agree, then that person will be the next President", he added. Analysts close to the Putin administration say getting an anointed successor who would continue his political project has become a significant preoccupation. In a report to investors this week, Christopher Granville, chief strategist at United Financial Group, a Moscow-based investment bank, said the 2008 succession issue was "important and already live". "[Mr Putin's comments] are probably good from the point of view of stability in Russia", Granville said. "But it won't convince the doubters. It won't change the minds of people who are determined to believe that any Russian leader must aim to become a lifetime dictator".