Putin repeats no-run pledge

Russian President Vladimir Putin on Monday repeated his pledge not to run for a third term as president but talked evasively about his plans after stepping down in 2008 in an interview with Dutch media ahead of his visit to the European country.

Asked if he could imagine a situation in which he would decide to remain in office for a third term, Putin said he realized the year 2008 will be an important test for Russia, and "not an easy one."

Under the Russian constitution, the president cannot stay in office for more than two consecutive terms.

"I am not indifferent, of course, to the question of who will take in their hands the destiny of the country I have devoted my life to serving. But if each successive head of state were to change the Constitution to suit them, we would soon find ourselves without a state at all," Putin said in the interview, transcript of which was posted on the Kremlin's web site.

The Russian leader talked evasively when asked if he would remain active in political life or go into some other area of activity, saying it is not "a good omen" to talk about the future.

"The future depends on how we live and what we do in the present. We build our future ourselves, through our present action, " he said.

In the interview, Putin sounded optimistic about the situation in the volatile North Caucasus region, saying the terrorists have ever less opportunities to act effectively in Chechnya and Russian forces will stop them from spreading their activities into other regions of the Caucasus.

Putin said several things are needed to fight terrorism effectively.

"We need to strengthen the state and the legal system, achieve economic growth and create a middle class, strengthen the law enforcement agencies and develop more effective international cooperation," he said.

Speaking on relations with NATO and the European Union (EU), Putin said Russia is actively developing cooperation with both organizations.

"We do not see NATO as a hostile organization and we are developing our cooperation with it," he said.

Russia has agreed with the EU on creating four common spaces a common economic space, common internal and external security spaces and a common culture and education space, which will bring Russia closer to the EU, Putin said.

Source: Xinhua