The Kremlin commented on the possibility of Putin’s second term – RBC

The head of the presidential administration Sergei Ivanov

Photo: TASS

The head of the presidential administration Sergei Ivanov in an interview with Financial Times said that under the Constitution, Vladimir Putin has the right to stand for a second term in 2018. However, he said, do not expect from the presidential statement of intention to run in the current year.

«Under the Constitution, our president is now elected for the first term, and under the constitution he has the full right, if it decides to nominate for election in 2018. But Vladimir knowing quite well, I think that if he is re-elected, it will announce about it this year. And why should he? We have other candidates, such as [the leader of the party "Yabloko" Grigory] Yavlinsky, and probably will be again. But it seems to me that this is a false start, to be honest, “- he said.

Ivanov also told the FT, that the Kremlin has never discussed the possibility of early presidential elections. According to him, he does not see any sense. “Do we have a terrible crisis in the country and pre-revolutionary situation? Yes, we have economic problems, but they are in the European Union, and the United Kingdom. I’m really looking forward to a referendum [on the UK's membership of the EU], I wonder what will be the outcome. I also wonder what the outcome of the Greek crisis – we have to wait quite a bit. But what about Russia, I do not see the crisis “, – he said.

In response to a reporter’s question, Ivanov drew a parallel with the possible early elections to the State Duma. According to him, the transfer of the Duma elections two months earlier makes sense, as the new parliament will adopt a new budget, and will be responsible for it. “If the deputies themselves did not raise the issue of early elections, the present Parliament adopted a budget or has resigned in November 2016. And the new members would come and say: “We did not accept this budget.” So in this [in the early elections of the Duma] have a certain logic. Moreover, it will save money. If we combine all the elections in the country, municipal, regional, gubernatorial and Duma – we will save several billion rubles, “- he said.

At the same time Ivanov noted that he sees nothing in the pre-term parliamentary and presidential elections . “I just do not see any sense in the early presidential election, I do not see” – he repeated.

Vladimir Putin was elected president in 2000 and was re-elected in 2004. From 2008 to 2012 he held the post of prime minister. In 2012, Putin was elected actually a third term, which expires in 2018 (in 2008 the president’s powers were extended from four to six years). According to the constitution, the same person can not hold the presidency for two consecutive terms.

On the proposal to postpone the presidential elections by the former Finance Minister Alexei Kudrin during the session of the St. Petersburg International Economic Forum. According to him, then the new head of state “with the new mandate of trust” would be easier to carry out structural reforms. In an interview with RBC, he explained that reforms are needed in order to raise the rate of economic growth. “Any program requires political support. This requires a political mandate and a window of opportunity. It always comes after the elections “, – said Kudrin .