Putin has not confirmed his participation in the next Russian election
RBC news agency reports that, according to Presidential Spokesman Dmitry Peskov, Russian President Vladimir Putin has so far refrained from saying whether he will participate in the presidential elections in 2018.
"President Putin himself has repeatedly said that it is premature to make any electoral statements. He has not made any statements yet," Peskov said. "There is still enough time before the start of the election campaign; there is another agenda for now."
Earlier, a federal official told RBC that Putin would surely participate in the election, but that it would be his final term.
Previously, it was reported that the Kremlin decided to turn the presidential election in 2018 into a referendum on confidence in Putin. There would be no opponents chosen to run against Putin. Instead, they want him to achieve the highest popular support in history.